Performance is Key
by originelle89
Summary: Draco Malfoy does not want to be a Slytherin and follow in his father's footsteps. When he meets a friend on the first train ride to Hogwarts, he begins to wonder if there is another option. Living a double life comes with many risks.
1. Chapter 1

The first time they spoke was on the train to Hogwarts. She had knocked politely on his compartment door and asked to sit down with him. Draco had been taken aback by the eagerness on her face. He had been dreading what was to come and could not have imagined anyone looking forward to the sorting. Instead of telling her to go away, instead of getting up to find Crabbe and Goyle, he had cleared his throat and invited her in. He had asked her name and immediately realized that they could never be friends. Nevertheless, he had smiled politely and answered her questions.

She had joined him at the start of their journey and had happily nattered on about all manner of things, clearly excited for what awaited her at Hogwarts. He responded as best he could, quite reluctantly at first. After a while, however, he realized that his fate hadn't been yet decided and there was a slight possibility that he could end up in a house other than Slytherin. When she left him to help a boy who had lost a toad, he was left alone, dreaming of a future he could never have.

Later, when Draco sat at the Slytherin table, he had stared gloomily across the hall at her. He stared at her, big bushy hair and all, laughing and smiling with the other Gryffindors around her. How he wished he had actually had a choice. When the sorting hat had been placed upon his head, it had yelled Slytherin almost immediately. However, Draco had been thinking with all of his might 'anywhere but there, please.' The sorting hat, instead of saving him, had said gently, "We all have our roles to play, young Malfoy - Slytherin!"

The second time they spoke was after the first day of classes. He had noticed her, eager once again, trying to prove she belonged in this magical world. He had watched others, noting that some were already annoyed with this know-it-all girl.

Now, he waited and pulled her into an empty classroom after their last shared class. She smiled, at first, remembering him from the train, and then, glancing at his tie, squared her shoulders and braced herself. "Hermione." Draco opened his mouth to explain, to blame the sorting hat, but she stopped him before he could even begin.

"Draco, there's no need." She half smiled, "I know that since I'm a muggle-born, you and I can't be friends. I read all about it, you see. Gryffindor and Slytherin are always enemies. Pureblood and muggle-born don't get along." She closed her eyes briefly, her eyelashes fanning her cheeks. "We're opposites in every aspect, blood, connections, experience. We're even opposites in colouring."

His eyes widened as he glanced between his pale, translucent skin and her olive toned skin. The words he wanted to say came tumbling out of his mouth before he could even think them over. "They say opposites attract."

Hermione smiled at that and sighed wistfully. "I wish I could believe that, Draco."

He nodded once, his heart falling in his chest. She turned to go and he couldn't help himself, the words just flowed out of him without censor. "Give me a chance, please." She stopped, her hand on the handle, ready to pull the door open. Draco wanted her to turn around, but she didn't. She just paused, waiting for him to continue. "I was worried about yesterday and where I would be sorted."

She glanced over her shoulder with one eyebrow raised. He took that as a sign to continue and so he stumbled forward with his explanation. "I wanted to be different. I wanted to do something different with my life. But the sorting hat said -"

He paused, eyes dropping to the floor as she turned completely toward him. "The sorting hat? Does it speak to everyone?"

Draco looked up and stared into her deep brown eyes. "I don't know."

"Please, continue." Hermione motioned with her hand, intent on finding out what the sorting hat had said.

"I asked the sorting hat to be placed anywhere but Slytherin." Draco sighed and dropped his head once again. "And it replied, 'We all have our roles to play, young Malfoy,' and then it put me here," His eyes narrowed and he tugged at his collar, at the green tie that had been threatening to choke him all day. "It put me in Slytherin anyway."

Hermione took a step forward and touched his hand which was still toying with his tie. He grabbed ahold of her hand as if it was a lifeline. "The sorting hat is very cryptic. When I was reading _Hogwarts: A History_, the information about the sorting hat was very vague. I know, I reread the section last night." Draco looked up and met Hermione's eyes. "You see, Draco, the hat told me that I also had a role to play."

Draco let out the breath he didn't know he was holding. "But what does that mean?"

Hermione smiled, "Well, the hat was a little more accommodating with me than with you. I asked it what it meant and it asked me a question in return." She glanced down at their hands, still joined. "It asked me if I believed in truth and justice. If I was prepared to fight against evil. If I believed in going to the ends of the earth to rescue someone." Draco's eyes widened. "I said yes, of course, and so the hat yelled Gryffindor. You see, before it told me that I had a role to play, it was debating whether or not to put me in Ravenclaw. So I knew Gryffindor meant something special" She paused and then continued, "Just before Professor McGonagall took the sorting hat away, I swear it said 'save him.'"

"Hermione." Draco took a step closer to her, not fully believing what he heard.

"Draco," She smiled back at him. "If it's you who I'm supposed to save, I suppose we will have to be friends after all."

Draco cleared his throat nervously, "there's a lot you should know, in that case."

Hermione smiled brightly back at him. "I love knowing things."


	2. Chapter 2

They decided to meet in an empty classroom three times a week. They picked an hour after supper when most of their housemates would think that they were studying. Draco told Hermione everything. He told her about his father and his father's connections to the Dark Lord. He told her of his punishments and how he had stopped asking for a familiar after Lucius had brought home a tiny kitten, let Draco play with it and then had it drowned while Draco watched later that day.

Hermione was horrified. "But you were only six!" She hissed after he confessed that particular sin of Lucius'. It seemed the more he told her, the bigger her hair got. She worried her lips while listening to him and it only took two meetings for her to ask, "Why don't we tell someone?"

Draco sighed and started the next portion of his tale. His mother. He told Hermione how his mother's greatest fault was loving him. And how that fault ate away at his father. He told Hermione about the screaming, how it was worse when it was silent and the one time she had defended Draco against Lucius and had almost been choked to death. And how, with Narcissa barely breathing on the floor behind him, Lucius had stooped down and said, right into Draco's face, 'No one protects you.'

After that, Hermione was silent for a great length of time. Draco attempted to comfort her, after all, they were only eleven and she had not been exposed to these particular horrors of the world before. He knew what to do, from comforting his mother, but Hermione shook her head when he put his hand on her shoulder and told him she needed time to think. Draco dropped his hand and Hermione smiled softly at him and told him not to worry. "Why don't we meet up like usual on Wednesday night?" Without waiting for an answer, she slipped out the door and he felt even worse than when he was spilling all of his family secrets.

Wednesday night came far too slowly for Draco. He skipped supper and went straight for their empty classroom, hoping Hermione would notice, take pity on him and come down for their meeting earlier than usual. When the door opened half an hour before their usual meeting time, he looked up hopefully. She smiled, handing him a napkin full of bits of supper.

He dug in, strangely starving, now that his fear that she wouldn't show up was abated. Hermione watched him eat for a while and then cleared her throat. "I have a plan."

He paused, swallowed what was in his mouth, and asked, "Oh, what is it?"

Hermione beamed at him, clearly happy about his table manners, "Well, let me think through this out loud." Draco lifted an eyebrow but remained silent. "Okay. Your father is an evil man. And you, despite his best efforts, are not. You love your mother and want to protect her. However, that is not possible until you are bigger, older and more skilled than your father is, correct?" Draco nodded once and waited to see where she was going with this.

"So, you have a role to play." Hermione continued, throwing back to the words of the sorting hat, a mere week ago. "Until such time as you can beat your father in a duel and protect your mother, you have a role to play. He needs to believe that you are a wretched, horrible, little version of himself."

Draco shook his head slowly. "I don't want to pretend to be like him. Hermione, I'm not sure you realize just how awful he is. How awful it is to be near him. I am not pretending to be like him."

She nodded, slowly. "I know, Draco. However, if you don't act like he wants you to, he will continue to punish you and your mother." She sighed and met his eyes. "If he knew you had a muggleborn friend, what would he do?"

Draco hesitated, not wanting to tell her the truth. "He would not be happy."

Hermione smirked. "That's an understatement."

"But then, what do I have to do? Do I have to pretend to believe in all of his ideologies? That I, as a pureblood Malfoy, am infinitely superior to you?" Draco looked pained. "Do we have to actually stop being friends?"

"No," Hermione clutched his hand. "No, we don't have to stop being friends. But we have to continue to be friends in secret. And you have to be more public with your hate. You need to pretend to be your dad, as much as possible. In each situation, you need to stop and think 'what would Lucius do' and then do that."

"But," Draco looked at Hermione, pain in his eyes. "If I do that, people will believe…"

Hermione nodded slowly. "I know, Draco."

"He hates muggleborns in particular." Draco looked down at their hands, still intertwined. "He calls you terrible names. If I have to do that…"

"It's okay," Hermione reassured him. "I know the truth. What we will do is play our roles outside this room. Whatever happens out there we won't let enter in here. I promise."

"I promise too," Draco whispered back at her, hardly able to believe his luck in finding this amazing girl. This girl who was so brave and so kind as to already believe in him, to trust him.

"Okay. We better put your evil role to the test. When is our next shared class?"

Draco paused, thinking over his schedule. "We have flying lessons on Friday."

Hermione nodded. "Do your worst, then. I'll meet you here, like normal, an hour after supper. We can do this." She squeezed his hand one last time and then slipped away, through the door.

"Do my worst," Draco spoke softly to himself. "Play my role. What happens if you don't like what you see?" The question hung in the air afterward, until curfew forced him to leave the room, although his thoughts did not stay safely behind.

An hour after supper on Friday, Draco opened the door to their classroom. He sighed in relief when he saw that Hermione was already there.

"Hermione, I'm really sorry." He wanted to continue, but her hand stopped him.

"Draco, you are a very good actor." His shoulders slumped. "I almost believed it myself, but then I thought back to this past week and a half and came to a decision." Draco's eyes stayed on the ground, waiting for her condemnation. "Draco." Hermione's voice was closer to him now and he chanced a glance upward, to see her right in front of him. "You're a good actor. This will make it easier for your dad to believe you. It's a good thing!"

Her excitement was confusing. "But, what I did to Neville…"

Hermione shrugged "Draco, I believe that what you did has to become the norm. People have to come to expect mean things from you if your father is going to believe your pretense." She gave him a small smile. "As long as I know that the real Draco is here, in this room, you don't have to apologize for what happens out there."

"You can't be serious, Hermione. What I do out there is going to have some sort of effect on you. You can't compartmentalize like that. I'm going to say or do something so terrible that you aren't going to come back through that door!" Draco's voice rose, against his will until he was almost screaming. "I'm going to do something so terrible that, one day, you will believe that this is the act and the person I am beyond these doors is the real thing!"

She had tears in her eyes when he finally stopped, looking ashamed. "I'm sorry Hermione. After the flying lesson, I went to the nearest toilet and lost my lunch. I felt horrible for saying and doing that to Neville. I don't even know him!"

Hermione moved closer to him and touched his hand. "Draco, I believe that you can do this. You want to save your mother. Every mean word out of your mouth or horrible action you take is all toward saving your mother. I am smart enough to realize that. I can do this. I promise I will always walk through that door."

Draco smiled at Hermione. He hesitated but then put his arm around her and drew her close. She sighed into the hug. "I don't know what I would do without you, Hermione, and I've only known you for two weeks."

She chuckled and rested her head on his shoulder. "Same here. You're my only friend here at Hogwarts."

He pulled back and stared down at her, incredulously. "Only friend?"

She nodded, "it would seem that I'm too much of a know-it-all for anyone to be friends with." Draco growled and Hermione looked surprised at the sound. "It's fine, Draco. It's only been two weeks. Oh!" Her eyes brightened and she took a step backward. "What does your father think of Harry Potter?"

Draco, attempting to follow along, shrugged his shoulders. "He said an attempt would have to be made, but it would only be for show. I assumed that meant to try to be friends, but actually, end up being enemies. Since I assumed that's what my father meant, I already blew it with Potter. I was rude in Diagon Alley and again on the train, right in front of Weasley."

Hermione beamed at him. "Perfect. I think that Harry and Ron are just what you need to really get into your evil act."

"Are you serious?" Draco raised both his eyebrows. "Potter is the reason the Dark Lord no longer exists. I should be groveling at his feet."

"I know that's what real Draco would want to do, but evil Draco?" Hermione smiled up at him. "I'm sure that evil Draco wants a duel."

"A duel? Merlin! It's only the second week of school! Why would I challenge them to a duel?"

Hermione shrugged, "I'm sure that you can come up with a reason, eventually. Now," She sat down and dug into her bag. "I brought our textbooks for the year. I figure we could work on them together, helping each other get better. Then, when we have mastered the first year curriculum we can move on to the second year!"

Draco stood, his arms crossed, staring down at his friend. Her bushy brown hair was tucked behind her ears and her over large front teeth were worrying her bottom lips as she opened their first year charms book. She looked up at him, a question in her eyes. He shook his head. Sitting down beside her, he grabbed the book. "Okay, Hermione, let's start."


	3. Chapter 3

Draco paced the classroom, three times before the door opened and closed behind her. "Are you okay?" He gasped, rushing over to her side. "I couldn't believe there was a troll in the school. And then I had to hear from everyone around me that you had gone off to fight it and actually won!"

Hermione smiled at him, softly, and took her usual spot on the classroom floor. "I had help. Harry and Ron were the ones who actually fought the troll. I was mostly hiding and crying."

"Well, I'm glad they won. I don't know what I would do without you, I only just found you!"

In the weeks that followed, Draco and Hermione continued to meet up, three times a week. Draco would always start the meeting off with an apology, which Hermione would brush off. They would then do whatever they pleased, talking, sharing childhood memories, laughing over jokes about their professors and even studying so that they could start working on more complicated magic.

The last meeting before Christmas was a somber one. Hermione was going home to her loving family, whereas Draco was going into the belly of the beast. "I wish you could come with me, Draco." Hermione smiled over top the exploding snap cards they were playing with. "My parents would just love you. And then you wouldn't have to face your father."

Draco half smiled and laid another card down. "To be honest, I would rather come with you. But this Christmas break might not be as bad as I previously thought. I mean, I'm playing my role after all." Draco pointed at his neck, showing off his green and white striped tie. "I've been absolutely nasty to everyone around me. I'm sure my father has been getting reports from people - Crabbe, Goyle, Snape…" He trailed off, eyes narrowing. "I'm sure he is… pleased."

Hermione laid down another card and paused as the cards suddenly exploded. "I don't think I'll ever understand this game." She looked up and met Draco's eyes, which were shining with laughter. "I mean - who just won? Is the goal to make it explode?"

Draco laughed out loud and threw the rest of his cards on top of the pile. "I'm going to miss you, Hermione." She smiled at him for a few minutes, then got up and prepared to leave. "Have a good holiday."

"You too, Draco," Hermione said softly before she pulled open the door and disappeared. Draco sighed and leaned back against the wall, preparing himself to go and get ready for the trip back home.

The next day Draco bundled himself up and headed down to the main entrance to wait with the others who were heading home. He glanced around and saw Hermione. He wished, more than anything at that moment, that he could go over and stand beside her. He wished he could say something to make her laugh and that, in hearing her laugh, he could laugh too. Instead, he turned away and glared toward the door at the main entrance.

After the students were all bundled into coaches and then taken down to the train, Draco allowed himself to look around for Hermione once more. He knew that Harry and Ron were staying behind and had already said something nasty about it, but he didn't know where Hermione would choose to sit on the long train ride back. He picked an empty compartment, just in case, and proceeded to get more and more sullen as he waited for her to arrive. She never did.

He didn't blame her, after all, outside of their classroom, they pretended not to know each other. She was far too smart to risk anyone finding out they were actually friends. She knew better. And so did he. Draco, however, couldn't help but wallow in his sullenness the rest of the journey back to King's Cross. Once the train arrived, he opened his compartment door and made eye contact with Hermione as she passed by. He turned to grab his trunk and haul it off the train.

His mother was waiting for him, with no sign of Lucius. He risked a smile for her and she smiled back, widely. Draco dropped his trunk and ran over to his mother, who immediately wrapped her up in a big hug. He opened his eyes after a minute and saw Hermione in a similar situation with both parents over his mother's shoulder. Clearing his throat, Draco backed up and adopted a bland expression. "I'm glad to see you, Mother. Where is Father?"

Narcissa swallowed at the look on her son's face. "He was busy and had to miss picking you up on the train. He'll be there when we arrive home." Draco nodded once and turned to pick up his trunk. His mother tsked at him and waved her wand. The trunk suddenly became feather light and followed along behind them as they walked toward the entrance of platform nine and three quarters. Just before the entrance, Narcissa flicked her wand again and Draco's trunk vanished. "We're just going to take our time going home, I think, Draco. I could use a nice walk."

Draco nodded, wanting to stretch his legs and also walk through muggle London with his mother. They headed out, into the growing darkness. Walking along, Narcissa quizzed Draco on all aspects of Hogwarts, from friends to assignments and everything in between. "I'm so glad that you are enjoying it, my dear." Draco nodded again, noncommittally. He knew that he would be enjoying it so much more if he had been sorted into a different house. Or if he didn't fear so much for his mother's life.

Narcissa sighed and looked down at her 11-year-old son. She knew that, with each day, Draco was becoming less and less like his father. But, for both of their safety, she also knew they would both try their best to ignore it. Draco and Narcissa walked in companionable silence for a few more minutes, before arriving at the entrance to the Ministry of Magic. "Shall we?" Narcissa led the way, down to the line of fireplaces that would whisk them home to Malfoy Manor.

She ended the invisibility charm on the trunk and grabbed it with one hand. With the other, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a bag of floo powder. Offering it first to Draco, she watched as he went first, shouting Malfoy Manor and disappearing. Narcissa paused. For just a moment, she imagined shouting another place when entering the floo. She let that image take root in her mind, bolstering her for what was to come. Taking a deep breath, Narcissa squared her shoulders and stepped into the flames, which quickly took her away, to the Manor that she had grown to hate.

Once there, she stepped out of the fireplace and used her wand to get rid of any soot that clung to her. A pop sounded beside her and a house elf appeared, to take Draco's trunk. She nodded once at the house elf and turned toward the sitting room, where she was sure Lucius would be.

Arriving in the room, she saw Lucius standing overtop of Draco, who was already on the floor. She knew better than to question or exclaim. She also knew better than to rush over to his aid. She took another deep breath and sat down on one of the couches, waiting for whatever would happen next.

Lucius glared toward her briefly and then looked back down at their son. She could already see a bruise forming on Draco's cheek. What could Draco have done in such a short time? Lucius cleared the matter up for her immediately. "Although I am slightly pleased to know that you are in Slytherin, where you belong, I am less pleased to know that you are allowing a mudblood to better you in class."

Draco's eyes were hooded, his mouth in a thin line. He knew that he could not say a word. Anything he might say would only make this worse. Instead, he glanced at his mother briefly, who looked so much older than she did a half hour before when they were walking through the streets of London. Lucius noticed the glance and glared once again toward Narcissa, who doesn't move. "Get up." He barked at Draco. Draco stood slowly, warily. "And this is for not being on the house team when Harry bloody Potter already is!" Lucius swung his fist again, knocking Draco into the side table, cracking his head against the floor.

Narcissa closed her eyes briefly and tried to reign in her desire to run to Draco to cast a diagnosis spell on him. When she opened her eyes, Lucius is glaring at her. "What took you so long to bring him home, Narcissa?"

She attempted to look puzzled, despite knowing that whatever she showed would make him angrier. She was right. He hauled her to her feet and dragged her out of the room, leaving Draco behind, bleeding on the floor.


	4. Chapter 4

The first day back at Hogwarts was a Monday and Draco was thankful that he didn't have to wait too much longer to see Hermione. As soon as supper was over, he headed to their classroom to wait for her. He didn't have to wait long. Hermione must have had the same idea as him and opened the door moments after he closed it. She rushed over to him and engulfed him in a hug.

Her hair tickled his face and he smiled in spite of it. He returned her hug, for as long as she was willing to touch him. When she pulled away, he plastered a smile onto his face and asked about her Christmas break.

"Oh Draco, it was wonderful. Except for the parts when I remembered what hell you were probably going through, which was all the time. My parents were so confused. I was happy one minute, sad the next."

Draco chuckled and led her over to their usual spot. "No need to worry about me, as you can see I'm in perfect health."

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him. "Now."

He opened his mouth to contradict her and then thought better of it. "Yes, I'm in perfect health now. No need to worry."

"I'm going to Draco, every time. We have a lot of breaks to get through between now and the end of school." She paused and looked thoughtful. "Assuming that you will be ready to protect your mother by the time we are done school."

Draco muttered under his breath and glanced at her. "Hopefully before."

Hermione nodded once and then reached into her bag. "I hope you don't mind, I figured since we were almost done with studying for our first year, we could discuss which subjects we would like to get better at." She held up a scroll and a quill. "We can debate and then I'll sign out some harder materials."

He shot a quick and easy smile at this wonderful girl. "Sounds like a well thought out plan. I think that advanced Defense would be a good idea, don't you?" Hermione nodded and jotted that idea down. "And perhaps Potions?" Draco looked thoughtful. "Right now, it really is my best subject."

"That's perfect." Hermione wrote down Potions on the scroll and then looked up at him. "Transfiguration. I want to become an animagus." Draco's eyebrows rose. "Professor McGonagall is one and I think that it'll be incredibly hard, but very useful."

Draco nodded his head slowly, "Especially if we break the rules a little and not register."

Hermione looked scandalized for a minute, but then remembered herself. "Right, of course. If people knew we were an animagus, they would know what to look for. You're right."

"Hermione, how are we going to do this?" Draco looked concerned and Hermione stared back, confused. "We're only first years, after all."

She laughed and hit him lightly on the shoulder. "It's not going to happen overnight! Honestly, Draco. If we are in agreement with these three subjects, we are going to study them obsessively until we are able to master them. Whenever that may be."

She grinned at him and he felt his whole world snap into place around her. Where would he be without this amazing girl? Draco found himself nodding along with everything she said. "Of course, Hermione."

"Perfect. Thank you for agreeing so quickly." Hermione smiled at Draco, before filing her scroll back into her pack. "I'm surprised we didn't even have to discuss which subjects we should attempt to master."

Draco cleared his throat. "Well, the three that we picked are the most important. I mean, who would need divination, after all?"

Hermione looked quizzically at him, "Divination?"

"Seeing the future. Tarot cards. Reading tea leaves."

Hermione grimaced. "Yes, you're right, who would need that nonsense?"

Draco laughed and Hermione joined in, allowing themselves to forget the outside world for the rest of their time together.

The rest of the year flew by quickly. Draco continued to act like a complete and utter prat whenever he was outside their special room. He attempted to get them in trouble for the dragon that Hagrid had. He continued to say snide things both under his breath and very much out loud whenever the three Gryffindors were around.

He also continued to apologize at the beginning of their meetings. Hermione, by the time Easter rolled around, was sick and tired of hearing Draco apologize. However, she continued to brush it off. She knew that Draco hated the role he was playing and that apologizing to her was his way of clearing his conscious.

Draco was also clearing his conscious by helping Hermione, Harry, and Ron with their quest to stop Snape from getting at the Philosopher's Stone. Although, he did tell Hermione that he was 90 percent sure that it wasn't Snape who was trying to steal it. But whoever was trying to steal it must be stopped, after all. He gave good ideas and was able to suggest things that she then casually brought up around Harry and Ron, or, more often than not, lectured Harry and Ron into agreeing with whatever Draco had suggested.

After the actual battle between Harry and Quirrell, Draco had nearly gone mad. The trio had gone to save the stone and to stop whoever it was that was planning on stealing it on a night that Draco and Hermione normally met. That meant, for the first time all year, he was stood up. He paced their classroom for an hour before storming out, angry and upset. A few steps out of their classroom and suddenly he thought of a reason for Hermione to have missed meeting him.

He darted back to the classroom and sank down to the floor. Hanging his head in his hands, Draco took a couple of deep breaths, trying to will his tears to remain in his eyes and not fall. It was, of course, a futile effort. Draco sat in the classroom another hour, feeling guilty about getting so mad about Hermione not meeting with him. He knew, however, that only something incredibly important could have kept her away. And he knew about the potential theft of the Philosopher's Stone. However, he had jumped to the first conclusion he saw, thought she had stood him up and became angry instead! How similar to his father was he? How could he get so angry, so quickly?

Surely, there would be many more times that either one of them would have to miss a meeting. He couldn't react so negatively when things didn't go as he planned. Draco remained in his position, head in his hands, berating himself for quite some time. Draco decided to stay in the classroom, not wanting to leave the safety of the one place he could be himself. He also stayed so that the worry he felt for Hermione would not be seen and noticed by anyone else.

A couple of hours after curfew, he heard yelling in the hallways. Draco wanted to open the door and investigate, but didn't want to lose his house any more points. He pressed up against the door, listening for sounds of crying or something that would suggest that the trio's mission had ended badly.

Eventually, Draco fell asleep, leaning against the door.

The next morning, the door opened quickly, and Draco flew backward, jolted awake by the sudden movement. Hermione closed the door and threw herself into his arms. "Oh Draco, I'm sorry for missing our meeting last night."

Draco sighed and hugged her back, glad to see she was in one piece. "It's alright, Hermione. I figured it out." He pulled back and searched her face. "Are you okay?"

Hermione nodded. "Yes, Ron and I don't even have a scratch. Harry does, of course, but he'll be fine. He's in the hospital wing right now."

"Good. I'm glad you are all alright." Draco pulled her back in for another long hug. "Who was actually trying to steal the stone?"

Hermione mumbled something against his shoulder and he pulled away again to hear what it was. "It wasn't Snape, you were right." At Draco's smirk, Hermione sighed. "I know. Harry and Ron were really convincing though." Draco's eyebrow lifted, signaling that he wanted an answer to his original question. "It was Quirrell."

"What?" Astonished, Draco shook his head. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. He had Voldemort on the back of his head. A man possessed by Voldemort has been teaching us Defense all year long!" Hermione shrieked, having just come to this realization now with Draco present.

"Well, he didn't really do a good job of actually teaching defense, now did he?" Draco chuckled at the look on Hermione's face.

"You are impossible." Hermione shook her head and then proceeded to fill Draco in on the rest of their adventure.

"I can't believe that Harry faced the Dark Lord again and got away. It's incredible." Draco mused, after Hermione's story.

"I agree." She fell silent for a minute, then made eye contact with Draco. "Tomorrow is the leaving feast, yesterday was supposed to be our last meeting until September."

Draco's mood suddenly plummeted again. "I know."

Hermione sighed. "I don't think that I'll be able to get away from Harry and Ron tonight."

Draco nodded his head. "I understand."

"Listen," Hermione hugged Draco again. "You can last the summer. It'll be done before you even know it. Maybe we can write to each other?" She pulled away and looked up at him.

He thought it over. "It's possible. We would have to be very general with our wording. I don't know if my father would bother to read through my mail, but just in case…" Draco trailed off, realizing it would be best if they don't communicate at all.

Hermione, of course, came to the same conclusion. "If there's a chance that he could read something, get angry and then take it out on you… I don't want to be responsible for him hurting you."

"You never would be, Hermione." Draco took both of her hands with his. "It would never be your fault if Lucius decides to do something awful." She pressed her lips into a thin line. "It's true. He's an awful, evil man. If I didn't have my mother to care about, there's no way I would be heading back there. But," he paused, to make sure she was listening. "No matter what he does, no matter what happens, it is no one else's fault but his."

Hermione's eyes filled and she hugged him close once again. "I'm sorry in advance, Draco."

He nodded and returned the hug. "September 1st is a Tuesday. I'll see you in this classroom the day after we get back, alright?"

She nodded and hugged him tighter. "Be safe." With that, she made eye contact one final time, eyes filled with tears, and turned to leave.

Draco waited a couple of minutes before emerging from the classroom. He headed to the dungeons, to his dorm room, and slowly started packing his life away. The boys in his room around him were boisterous and carefree. He glanced around. Nott, Crabbe, Goyle, all had fathers like his. How did they cope? He looked back to his things, all neatly piled into his trunk. He glanced once more at the boys around him. Maybe their fathers weren't like Lucius, after all.


	5. Chapter 5

Draco made it through the summer mostly unscathed. His father was very preoccupied with something, and whatever it was allowed Draco to sneak around the manor undetected for the most part. Lucius even had quite a few international meetings, meaning Draco and Narcissa were left on their own for days at a time.

Narcissa had taken Draco to London for several short trips and tried to spend as much happy time with him as possible before Lucius descended and fear took over the manor again. The day Lucius returned from his short trips were always the worst and Draco had suffered two black eyes from one return celebration. After another one, Draco had regained consciousness in his room, his mother telling him he had been out since his father had returned two days previously.

After that encounter, Draco collapsed inwards. He had stared sullenly at his mother, who tried to explain what had happened. He had waved her off. "No need to explain, Mother." He had attempted to rise from his bed and Narcissa had pushed him back down with a worried look on her face. Draco had to stay in his bedroom for three days before Narcissa would let him leave. The entire time, Draco read books and thought longingly about spending the summer with Hermione.

When Lucius requested that Draco meet him downstairs later that week, Draco thought for a brief second about not answering the summons. Although he immediately corrected his behaviour and started downstairs, he kept the idea of rebelling in the deepest, most secret part of his brain. When he reached the bottom of the staircase, he found Lucius, prepared to head out, scowling down at him. "What is taking so long? Go and get your cloak."

Draco hurried to obey, rushing off and returning as soon as possible. Lucius narrowed his eyes at Draco, but, not finding anything amiss in his son's appearance, he turned toward the fireplace. Scooping up a handful of floo powder, Lucius raised an eyebrow at his son, threw the powder into the flames and shouted "Diagon Alley."

Lucius was whisked away immediately and Draco's shoulders slumped. Spending the afternoon with his father in Diagon Alley was not his idea of fun. Taking a deep breath, he prepared himself to become evil Draco. This close to September meant that there would be at least a few of his classmates around and they expected to see Draco a certain way. With his sneer firmly in place, Draco grabbed some floo powder and followed in his father's footsteps.

When Draco arrived in Diagon Alley, he saw Lucius waiting for him, holding what appeared to be Draco's school supply list. He followed along after his father, trying to maintain his public persona of a spoiled, whiny, evil little brat. When people were not around, however, he reverted back to silence, trying his best to not provoke his father.

Their last stop was Flourish and Blotts, where a large crowd was gathered. Draco could hear his father grumbling under his breath and closed his eyes, briefly hoping that the store would not send his father into a rage. They entered, only to find Harry Potter and a large number of Weasleys right near the front of the shop.

Draco also noticed Hermione, almost immediately. She was standing a little further back, almost engulfed by the crowd. Draco's heart fell, but immediately said something rude and awful to both Harry and the youngest Weasley that Harry was standing closest to. When he felt his father's hand on his shoulder, his stomach dropped. Surely Lucius wouldn't lay a hand on him in the middle of a crowded shop.

Draco's eyes widened slightly and he accidentally made eye contact with Hermione. Her eyes were also wide, frightened of what might happen. While his father goaded Mr. Weasley, Draco tried to steal as many glances of Hermione as he could. She looked healthy, perhaps a little more tanned than normal. She was accompanied by a taller version of herself, obviously her mother. They shared the same shade of hair, although Mrs. Granger's hair was far less wild than her daughter's.

Also with Hermione was a man that Draco assumed was her father. Mr. Granger held his wife's hand affectionately, and as Mr. Weasley threw himself into a fight with Draco's father, Mr. Granger pulled his wife closer to protect her, also reaching out a hand to make sure Hermione was close. Draco noticed the small, kind gestures of a man who loved his family and could not help but openly stare, with a look of longing crossing his face.

His stare was caught by Hermione, who narrowed her eyes at him and shook her head slightly. Draco realized what had happened and tried to put a sneer back on his face like his father would expect him to have in the presence of muggles. When Lucius had extracted himself from Hagrid's grip, Draco turned to follow, resisting the urge to look over his shoulder at Hermione.

Lucius, clutching at his growing black eye, stomped toward the public fireplace so that they could floo home. He thrust the bag of floo powder at Draco and barked at him to "hurry it up." Draco rushed into the fireplace and spun homeward. Upon arrival, Narcissa looked up, eyes wide. Draco moved out of the fireplace and sent one fearful look at his mother before fleeing the room.

Narcissa, having taken the hint, stood from the couch and moved quickly toward the door to the gardens. Before she could get all the way outside and out of the range of fire, she heard Lucius' voice behind her. "Where do you think you are going?"

Draco, having hidden safely in his room, closed his eyes and cried, listening to the distant sounds of Lucius taking out his frustration on poor Narcissa.


	6. Chapter 6

September 1st was finally here. Draco was packed and impatient to leave for platform nine and three quarters. He knew that he would be unable to speak to Hermione, at least in the manner that he would like to, on the train. However, the sooner they were on the train, the sooner it was the feast, then the first day of classes and then their regular Wednesday night meeting. And that meeting was something Draco had been looking forward to since the end of the term.

Taking one last glance around the room, Draco hoped he hadn't forgotten anything important. Calling for a house elf, he asked the elf politely to bring his trunk to the front entrance. Walking downstairs, he saw his mother waiting beside his trunk, traveling cloak on. She smiled at him, eyes misty. Draco cleared his throat and glanced around, making sure Lucius was nowhere to be found. "Mother?" He asked, hoping the tone of his voice would convey the true question he had.

Narcissa shook her head, her eyes darting to a door that sealed a hallway that led toward Lucius' study. Draco took her meaning and nodded once. He turned and waited alongside his mother, hands clasped behind his back, praying that Lucius would hurry. He also prayed that Lucius would not find anything wrong with himself or Narcissa and would allow them to depart for the train as soon as possible.

The door slammed open and Lucius entered the main entrance, glancing at his wife and son. Draco stood a little bit taller. He heard Narcissa take a deep breath beside him. Lucius eyed Draco's trunk and then nodded once. "I'm glad to see that you are ready, Draco." His eyes flicked over his wife once again, noting her fashionable cloak. "Good. Now, before we leave, I have something for you." Lucius turned and grabbed an object that Draco had not noticed before. "I purchased this a couple of days ago." He presented Draco with a broom, the newest model of the Nimbus, the 2001.

Draco took the broom, somewhat warily, and looked it over. He allowed a smile to come over his face. "Thank you, Father."

Lucius nodded once. "Well, I have high hopes for you this year. I expect to come to a couple of your matches."

"Of course, Father. I'll sign up for the tryouts as soon as I'm back."

With a wave of his hand, Lucius dismisses Draco's words. "No need. I sent the rest of the players on your team the same broom. I received an owl from your captain earlier today welcoming you to the team."

Draco fought to control his face, to not show his true feelings on making the team in such a fashion. He looked down at the broom in his hands. He had hoped, of course, to make the team. Quidditch was an amazing escape for him. When flying, Draco felt in control, able to go anywhere and possibly do anything. However, with Lucius buying a spot for Draco on the team, he would never know if he would have made it based on skill or not. Narcissa shifted beside him and Draco realized that he had taken a little too long in responding to Lucius.

He looked up and met his father's eyes. "Thank you again. I am glad to already have a spot on the team." Draco paused and tried to continue, but he could not think of any more words to placate Lucius with.

Narcissa cleared her throat, gently. "Perhaps, my dear, we should be getting Draco to the train. It will be leaving soon." Lucius nodded once and gripped Draco's trunk with one hand. He disapparated, leaving Narcissa to side-along Draco. Narcissa hugged Draco to her, quickly. "I love you, my child. I want you to have the best year."

Draco nodded, his eyes starting to tear up as his mother's had been earlier. "Mother," he attempted to start to plead with her, to get herself somewhere safe away from Lucius.

She cut him off before he could say anything more. "Enough. You know it's better if you don't even say it, Draco. I'll be fine. Don't worry about me." She hugged him tight again, then released him with a soft smile. "Take care of yourself." With that, she gripped his arm and spun on the spot.

They arrived at platform nine and three quarters and hurried over to where Lucius was standing. He glared as they arrived, apparently too late for his liking. Draco felt the guilt pile higher in his gut. His mother would more than likely pay for making Lucius wait. After a brief, terse goodbye, Draco dragged his trunk onto the train and found the compartment Crabbe and Goyle were already in. He stowed his trunk away and listened to Crabbe and Goyle tell each other, and him, indirectly, about their summers.

A few minutes into their journey, Draco noticed Hermione walking by. She made eye contact, briefly, and continued on her way, looking worried. Draco resisted the urge to follow, to pull her into a hug and hear about her delightful summer. He briefly wondered why she was worried, but then focused back on Crabbe and Goyle's conversation.

When the train arrived, Draco led the way onto the platform, Crabbe and Goyle trailing behind him. They walked toward the horseless carriages as a group. Draco saw, out of the corner of his eye, Hermione walking with Neville. He wondered aloud, "Where are Potter and the Weasel?" Crabbe and Goyle shrugged helplessly behind him, unable to answer. "Granger is usually with them, isn't she?"

Crabbe nodded and Draco narrowed his eyes. He hoped that the boys hadn't been ignoring her as they did last year. Hermione was his friend and he didn't like seeing her upset. However, his evil act was much easier to do when Harry and Ron were being mean to his only friend at Hogwarts.

There was no sign of the boys at the Welcome Feast either. Draco watched the sorting with a bored look on his face, seeing yet another Weasley, who was inevitably sorted into Gryffindor. He was briefly jealous, thinking of how much easier his life at Hogwarts would be if he had been sorted into Gryffindor. But, then again, his life would have been so much worse at home if he was in any other house.

Once the feast was over, Draco headed to his dorm to unpack and begin the wait until the next day, when he could see Hermione. It seemed as though he had waited the whole summer to be able to see her, however, now that he was at Hogwarts and so close to seeing her, it felt like he still had forever to wait, due to the anticipation. He tried his best to interact with the other boys in his dorm, asking Theo how his summer had been, but his mind was definitely on a certain girl in one of the far towers.

The next day Draco heard about how Harry and Ron had made it to school. He supposed evil Draco would have a field day with this news, so he attempted to use the information to his advantage. He made it through the day without looking at Hermione too often. He ate dinner quickly and left the hall while Crabbe and Goyle were busy on their second helpings of dessert.

Draco practically ran to their room. Once there, he stopped and took a deep breath. He didn't know how long it would be before Hermione met him. Luckily, he brought his second-year textbooks with him, so he opened up one the defense books, written by Lockhart. After a few pages, he closed the book in disgust. While he was sure that the book was an interesting story, it hardly qualified as a defense textbook. Not unless knowing what Lockhart's favourite colour was would help in a duel.

Before Draco could grab a different book to read, the door swung open and Hermione rushed in. He stood and opened his arms and she ran straight to him. They stood there, hugging, for quite some time. Finally, Hermione took a step backward and smiled up at him. Although she had grown a bit over the summer, he was still a couple of inches taller than she was. "Oh, Draco, it's so good to see you!"

"You too, Hermione." He smiled at her, "You look like you had a good summer."

"I did," She paused and her smile slipped off her face. "I'm sorry, I know that you didn't have the best summer. I -"

He cut her off before she could apologize any further. "It's alright. We both knew what was going to happen." He sat down and patted the ground beside him. "Tell me about your summer."

Hermione obliged, filling the room with her stories, trying to coax a laugh or two out of Draco, who was much more serious than he had been in June. When she came to the part of her summer where her parents took her to Diagon Alley, Draco's eyes dimmed a little. "Draco, I hope you don't think I blame you for what happened at Flourish and Blotts."

He shrugged his shoulders. "No, I didn't think that you did. I was just thinking that your parent's first impression of me is not the most favourable."

"Well, to be honest, I kind of told them about you." Hermione ducked her head, hoping Draco wouldn't be upset.

"You did?" He asked, incredulously.

"Not entirely, but I wanted them to know that you were normally a kind boy at school and I wondered out loud if your father made you act like that."

Draco nodded his head absently. "That is the truth, isn't it? If I wasn't so scared for my mother. Or for myself, I would never utter a lot of the words that come out of my mouth in public."

"I know."

They continued to talk, well after their agreed upon hour, eager to catch up on each other's lives and plan for the rest of the year, both in their extra studies and what Hermione liked to call evil Draco assignments. When they finally parted, Draco felt happier than he had been all summer and he couldn't help but look forward to their next meeting.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Eight

Their next meeting, however, was little more than a disaster.

After Draco called Hermione a mudblood, he was sick to his stomach. Leaving the trio, Ron already belching up slugs, he headed for the nearest toilet. He threw up whatever he had eaten that day and then stumbled toward the sinks to wash his face.

Draco couldn't believe that he had done it. He had heard that kind of hate his whole life from his father. He had sworn that he would never wield it himself, and certainly never against Hermione. But, here, after less than a week back at school, he had already called her a mudblood.

He stared at himself in the mirror for a few minutes, before realizing that his team was probably waiting for him to practice. With an awful feeling in the pit of his stomach, he turned to leave the bathroom. On the pitch, the rest of the team was already following directions. He listened and fell into formation, trying out whatever his captain wanted, trying to ignore the leaden weight in his chest.

After practice, Draco sat in his dorm room, alone. He didn't want to head down to the Great Hall. He felt he didn't deserve to eat in the same room as Hermione right now. He wallowed a little longer, before deciding to head to the room that he and Hermione usually met in. It was a Thursday and therefore she would not be meeting him. However, Draco thought that he would feel better in that space, surrounded by happy memories that he and Hermione had created over the past year.

When he reached their room, he was incredibly surprised to find Hermione in the room. She looked up at him, from her spot on the floor, and gave him a small wave. "Hi, Draco."

Draco was frozen, standing in the doorway. He recovered slightly, enough to take another couple steps and close the door behind him. "Hermione?" He asked, unsure of her reasons for being in their room on a Thursday. "What are you doing here?"

Hermione took a deep breath and beckoned him forward. "Well, I figured that you would be upset with what happened earlier. I reasoned that you might come here, to escape your dorm room and to avoid me in the Great Hall." She indicated a napkin filled with food. "I brought supper. Come and sit."

Disbelieving, Draco took another couple steps forward. "But," he paused and his expression darkened. "You can't be serious! This is how you are acting after I called you that terrible name?"

Her eyebrows raised, Hermione looked at Draco with a straight face. "I am perfectly serious. I told you before, I know that what you do outside this room is an act." She pointed at the place beside her. "Come and sit."

He moved closer, sitting in the spot she indicated. "I still don't understand. How can you possibly forgive me for what I said? I was literally sick afterward. I barely made it through practice. I kept thinking about how you must feel and how I was becoming more and more like my father."

Hermione reached out, to lay a hand on Draco's shoulder. "I know. That's why I'm here." She moved her hand, grabbing the napkin and bringing the food closer to Draco. "Eat something."

Draco shook his head. Hermione raised her eyebrows again but didn't pressure him again. "Draco, I know that the next few years are going to be difficult. This act that you have to put on is only going to get worse. If you want your mother to be safe, people are going to have to believe that you share your father's ideas and attitudes." She paused at his sigh but then continued. "You might have to do something really terrible. But, I will always be there for you. Remember what the sorting hat told me. I have a role to play. And that role is to help save you."

Frustrated, Draco made eye contact with Hermione, pinning her with his gaze. "What if saving me isn't encouraging me to be the monster my father is? What if you're supposed to save me by making me change, by getting me to stand up to him, despite the potential consequences?"

Hermione frowned, clearly thinking Draco's questions over. "Well, that could be true, you're right. But, the sorting hat also told you that you have a role to play. If you were supposed to stand up to Lucius, wouldn't it have put you in Gryffindor? Or, if we were supposed to come up with a plan to outsmart your father, maybe it would have put us in Ravenclaw." Draco was speechless, so Hermione pressed on. "I think the fact that it told you that you had a role to play and put you in Slytherin means you are supposed to act like evil Draco as much as possible."

She took a deep breath. "And it asked me to play a role as well. We are opposites, that's what we determined our first meeting here. Perhaps we are supposed to play a role as opposites as well in public, to be on different sides."

"You could be right, Hermione. It does make sense," Draco conceded. "But if we do all of this, if we play our roles, what will be the final outcome?"

Hermione paused, clearly thinking over Draco's question. "Well, the sorting hat did mention a rescue. Perhaps if we play our roles, I'll be able to rescue you from something." She stopped and shrugged. "Remember, the hat asked me if I believed in going to the ends of the earth to rescue someone. I said yes then, and I still believe it." She waved her hands around, attempting to put her thoughts into words. "Perhaps the ends of the earth means enduring getting called dumb names." Hermione looked into Draco's eyes again. "What I'm trying to say is, I understand the role that we both have to play in public. I promise I will always understand and remember. I can't control how you feel, but please find some comfort in the fact that I know that it is, in fact, an act."

Draco shook his head, not quite believing what he was hearing. "Alright. I will trust in you. Can I continue to apologize for whatever, unfortunately, comes out of my mouth in public?"

Hermione sighed. "If you must."

"Alright." Draco, feeling the knot of worry loosen a little in his stomach, reached down for some of the food Hermione brought. He chewed, while she opened her bag and brought out her Defense books, stacked them all in a pile, and then glared at them. He swallowed, then asked, "What's the matter?"

"Well," Hermione said, slightly breathlessly, "Professor Lockhart is wonderful, as you know." Draco rolled his eyes but didn't contradict Hermione. "I do love hearing stories about how he defeated all these monsters. However," her eyes once again narrowed on the pile of books. "Having read through them all, I find them lacking in actual teachable defense." She turned to Draco and sighed. "I'm afraid we aren't going to use them at all this year, to advance our knowledge of the subject."

Draco smirked and let Hermione keep talking, her words flowing around him, lifting his spirits and bolstering the hope that she would keep her word and always believe in him.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Nine

They met, as usual, three nights a week the rest of September and October. Inside the safety of their room, they were able to forget about the outside world and instead focus on one another and, of course, study as much as they could. Near the end of October, Hermione declared that they were almost done with the Transfiguration for the year. She vowed to bring a harder book so that they could get a head start on year three in that subject. Hopefully, by Christmas, they would be able to start figuring out what it would take to become animagus.

Draco had been on edge after the horrible night she, Harry and Ron discovered Mrs. Norris petrified, words written ominously about the Chamber of Secrets. He suggested that they postpone meeting for a while since he didn't want her to get attacked while walking by herself coming to meet him or after leaving their room. She brushed it off, saying that she was sure it wouldn't happen again. She also shared with him that Harry and Ron had easily taken Draco's bait and definitely believed that Draco was the one behind the attack. They had laughed briefly but then had fallen silent. They both knew that Draco was not the one behind the attack, but that still meant someone was.

After the disastrous Quidditch match, where Draco had missed the snitch and Harry had managed to catch it, despite trying to get away from a rogue bludger, Draco moped in his dorm. He had faced his father afterward and was already dreading going home at Christmas. Lucius would not be forgetting Draco's apparent lack of skill and would not be in a good mood when Draco arrived back home.

The next morning, he headed down to breakfast, still worried about what would be waiting for him once he returned home for Christmas. Sitting at the Slytherin table, Draco felt eyes on him. He glanced up saw that Hermione was staring at him. He raised one eyebrow and she gave him a slight nod. He grabbed a piece of toast and saw her out of the corner of his eye, get up and exit the Great Hall. He quickly smeared whatever was closest onto his toast, then glancing at his housemates around him, excused himself from the table.

He ate while walking somewhat slowly toward their classroom. He hoped that no one would notice that he had followed Hermione, thinking that their exits were in any way connected. Once at their classroom, he opened the door and closed it quickly behind him. "Thank god!" Hermione was right beside the door, clearly upset about something. "I didn't know if you would understand my signal!"

"What is it?" Draco asked.

"You haven't heard?" Hermione opened her eyes wide, incredulous. Draco shook his head. "Apparently Colin Creevey tried to see Harry last night in the hospital wing. On the way there he was petrified."

Draco slumped against the wall. "No, I hadn't heard anything yet."

Hermione sighed and leaned against the wall beside him. "Our house is going crazy. Colin is a first year and they are all completely terrified now. Plus," She paused. "He is a muggleborn."

Draco nodded. "I know a little about the legend of the Chamber of Secrets. It makes sense that whoever is doing this would be trying to harm muggleborns." He glanced at Hermione, beside him. "You are most definitely in danger."

She sighed. "Not this again." She shook her head and tried to distract him. "Tell me what you know about the Chamber." He obeyed and told her all he knew. She was silent for a while afterward, thinking over the new information. "Okay. Well, I need to get going soon." Draco looked at her questioningly and she explained. "I am supposed to be meeting Ron. When we heard about the attack on Colin, he said that we should do something. The boys have been trying to think of a way to get you to confess."

She smiled at Draco and continued. "I, of course, need to pretend that I am also suspicious of you, so I suggested brewing a polyjuice potion."

"Are you serious?" Draco's eyebrows rose. "That's a difficult potion."

"I know. You've made it before and I haven't. I wanted to try it out, so that I didn't feel so behind in potions, compared to you." Draco opened his mouth to say she didn't have to feel the need to catch up at all, but Hermione continued before he could speak. "Anyway, now that Colin is also petrified, I should probably start brewing. Harry will be happier if there is a plan underway by the time he gets out of the hospital wing later this morning."

Draco sighed and nodded. "It's a good plan. Maybe you can make enough so that we could use it on someone we actually suspect, instead of wasting it on interrogating me."

Hermione laughed. "Yes, I hope to make a whole bunch. We'll have to keep it someplace safe, though. She glanced around the room, trying to imagine storing a bunch of polyjuice potion somewhere in the empty classroom. "Okay, I better go and meet Ron and start brewing." She smiled again at Draco and slipped out the door before he could bring up the issue of her safety once again.

Draco continued to worry for Hermione's safety and tried to talk some sense into her their next couple meetings, however, she brushed off his worries and instead asked him to help her research different defensive spells that they could start trying to practice.

One morning in late November, Draco looked up to see his mother's owl among the birds at breakfast. She landed in front of him and allowed Draco to untie the letter from her leg. The owl ate a piece of his bacon and then took off, without waiting for a reply. Draco opened the letter. Narcissa wrote that she and Lucius were leaving the country for Christmas and hoped that Draco would be okay with staying at school for the holiday season.

He couldn't believe his luck! Not only would he be able to avoid his father, he knew that Hermione was thinking of staying as well. He would be able to spend a little more time with her. Later that night, when they met in their classroom, he shared the good news. She, too, thought it was great and informed him that she, Harry and Ron would sign up to stay over Christmas as well. They would also be able to test the polyjuice potion since it would be ready around Christmas day.

A few days later, Draco and his housemates went down to the Great Hall for the first meeting of the dueling club. Once there, he listened halfheartedly to Professor Lockhart, wondering how he had done any of the things that he had written about in his books. When they paired off, Draco ended up with Harry and he was glad of the opportunity to be evil Draco again.

Later in the duel when Harry revealed that he was a Parselmouth, thanks to Draco's advanced spell, Draco was stunned.

At first, he panicked like the other students around him. If Harry was a Parselmouth, maybe he was the one attacking students. But, as he watched Ron and Hermione lead Harry out of the room, he reconsidered. Harry truly cared for Hermione. Draco doubted that Harry was a good enough actor to be attacking muggleborns and also best friends with one. He had seen Harry attempt to lie before and Draco could not imagine Harry keeping a pureblood hatred for muggleborns under wraps for very long.

Hermione later confirmed that Harry was not the one attacking people. She also asked Draco to do her a favour and, if they ever ended up dueling each other, to attempt to hit her with a tooth growing curse that they had recently found in a defense book. Draco was puzzled but agreed without probing her reasoning behind the request.

Once Christmas break arrived, Draco looked forward to the polyjuice potion visit that Harry, Ron, and Hermione would have with him. When he encountered only Harry and Ron, disguised as Crabbe and Goyle, he was a little worried for Hermione. Afterward, when Hermione failed to meet him at their usual time, he was incredibly worried.

He tried to spy on Harry and Ron, who visited the hospital wing a couple of times over the next few days. Draco was utterly convinced that Hermione had been petrified until he saw Harry and Ron laughing one day while leaving the hospital wing.

When Hermione explained what had happened, Draco laughed for at least five minutes, until he was crying.

She smacked him on the arm and then had laughed too. "Next time, I'll run a diagnostic spell on the hair before I try to change into someone else."

The months between Christmas and Easter flew by. Hermione and Draco continued to advance their studies, Hermione had used Lockhart's signature again to get a couple of harder Transfiguration books out of the Restricted Section. They both stayed at Hogwarts for Easter, Draco wanting to avoid Lucius and Hermione telling her parents that she wanted to study for the upcoming exams.

When Hermione was attacked and petrified a few weeks after Easter, Draco was heartbroken. He had been worried about her the entire year and had warned her several times about being careful when she was alone. There were two terrible outcomes to Hermione being petrified, according to Draco. The first was that his one true friend was frozen in the Hospital wing, leaving him incredibly lonely. The other negative was that he was unable to help Harry or Ron with anything they might do to uncover the attacker. And Draco knew Harry and Ron would do anything to stop the attacks. Harry definitely had a hero complex, which evil Draco made fun of in public, but admired in private.

Draco spent the rest of the school year moping around the castle, wishing that he could visit Hermione without anyone noticing, and attempting to figure out the mystery of the attacks so that he could somehow tip off Harry and Ron. When the last message appeared on the wall and, through the gossip grapevine, he heard that Ron's little sister was missing and that the school might close, Draco felt sick to his stomach. He was, of course, worried for the youngest Weasley, but was also worried about the idea of not being able to escape to Hogwarts to get away from Lucius.

When everyone was called down in their pajamas to a feast, Draco knew that somehow, Harry and Ron had done it. His mood improved immensely when he saw Hermione run into the hall, although he was a little bit jealous that she was able to run to Harry and Ron but that she couldn't publically celebrate with him. They made eye contact once, during the all-nighter. He had quirked his eyebrow and she had smiled at him and nodded once. He took that to mean that they would be meeting like normal the next night, no matter what. He continued to celebrate with his classmates, happy in his ignorance of Lucius' role in the attacks, or what was to come.


	9. Chapter 9

The next day, Draco prayed for the minutes to go by quicker, so that he could see Hermione. He tried to take his time at supper, but gave up and headed to their meeting spot early, too eager to see his good friend. When Hermione opened the door, he rushed over to her to wrap her in a hug. "I told you to be careful!" He admonished. "I was so worried and then I had to hear through other people that you were petrified! And I couldn't visit you!" Draco's eyes filled with tears so he hugged Hermione tighter, hoping she wouldn't notice.

"Oh Draco, I'm so sorry." Hermione hugged him back and then eased herself from his arms. Seeing that he was upset, she rubbed his upper arm. "I was being careful though, you have to believe me. As soon as I realized that the monster was a basilisk, I knew that I had to check around corners. It doesn't kill unless you make eye contact." She gave him a hesitant smile, "Being petrified wasn't my plan, but it certainly beats ending up dead."

He nodded slightly, agreeing, but was still upset that she had been petrified at all. "So," he took Hermione's hand and guided her to their usual spot on the classroom floor. "Tell me how Harry managed to be the savior again."

Hermione laughed and told him the full story and Draco was amazed. "Are you telling me that Harry Potter took on the Dark Lord again? For the third time? And he survived, yet again?"

"Yes." Her answer was brief and, although she smiled, worry had begun to cloud in her eyes.

"What's wrong?" Draco asked hesitantly.

"Well, it's what happened after they got out of the Chamber of Secrets." She sighed and proceeded to tell Draco the rest of the story.

Once she was done, Draco sat back against the wall, stunned.

Hermione watched him, worrying her lip between her teeth. "I'm sorry Draco."

"No," Draco shook his head. "There's no reason to apologize. I can't believe he did that! Slipping that diary into her books…" He paused and the colour drained from his already pale face. "Harry freed Dobby? My father must be absolutely livid." He met Hermione's eyes and she saw the panic reflecting in them.

"Draco…" She hesitated, "We still have a week before we head home. Maybe he won't be as mad then?"

He shook his head. "It doesn't matter. He's angry now. And the only person who is at home for him to terrorize is my mother. She's all alone there, with him." Draco dropped his head into his hands. "By the time I get there, he will have calmed down. And she will have been injured."

Hermione moved closer to Draco and placed her hand on his shoulder. "I hate seeing you this helpless. Or being this helpless myself." Draco, unable to speak, covered her hand with his own. They sat together, in silence, for a couple of minutes, until Hermione thought of a change of topic. "So, tell me that you didn't waste precious time while I was petrified. You continued to study, correct?"

Draco half-heartedly shrugged. "It wasn't the same without you." At the look on Hermione's face, he backpedaled. "No! What I meant is that, yes, I continued to study." Hermione raised her eyebrows and Draco continued, "I really did. But, without you, I feel like I didn't do much." He reached into the bag he had brought with him. "I read two books on how to transform into an animagus and I figured I would give them to you for a bit of light reading over the summer."

She beamed at him and took the two books. "How did you get these? Were they in the library?"

"Yes," Draco nodded. "In the restricted section. I took a page out of your book and got Lockhart to give me permission."

"That's wonderful!" Hermione opened the first book and glanced at the contents. "Oh, these will be so useful!" Sudden realization crossed her face. "But, they are library books, I'll have to return them by next week! I'll have to get started immediately!"

At the panicked look on Hermione's face, Draco began to chuckle. "It's alright, Hermione. I actually did something else." He paused and reached into his bag again, pulling out the same books. Hermione's eyes widened. "I researched a spell. It's called the Doubling Charm. It makes an exact duplicate of an item. The duplicate is entirely worthless, but is still useful." He pointed to the books in Hermione's arms. "Those are the copies. These are the originals." Draco opened one of the books, showing Hermione that they were, in fact, the exact same. "I figured that Madam Pince would know if I tried to return the copies, so once you saw them I was going to return the originals to her."

Hermione's excitement could barely be contained. "What an interesting and useful spell! I'm so glad that you found it!" She looked down at the books in her arms and hugged them close. "I can't wait to read them, thank you Draco."

They spent the rest of their night talking about the events of the past two months that Hermione had missed. Draco tried to soak up as much Hermione chatter and laughter as he could since he had two fewer months of her presence before having to head back home for the summer.

The next week flew by and before Draco knew it, he was in his dorm again, packing for the train ride home. Around him, Blaise and Theo were also packing, quickly and quietly. Crabbe and Goyle hadn't begun packing and instead were choosing to throw a pair of dirty socks back and forth between them, each arguing that it was the other's pair of socks.

Draco sighed and shook his head. Catching Blaise and Theo's eyes, he cleared his throat. "Excited to be heading home, boys?"

Blaise glanced at Theo before responding. "Kind of."

Draco raised one eyebrow. Within his dorm he still played the part of Evil Draco and would readily complain about any Gryffindor, however, with just the guys in his year, in his house, he was a little more likable. Clearly, if he believed that pureblood Slytherins were the best, he would put a little bit of effort into getting along with the other people that would, supposedly, be on his level. Draco waited, after his eyebrow raise, not wanting to push the other boys into a response. Slytherins, after all, were cunning and tended to not lay all their cards out on the table.

After a minute, Theo responded as well. "You know how it is with our fathers." He stopped, clearly not wanting to continue.

"Last year you were both…" Draco trailed off and looked toward Crabbe and Goyle, who had dissolved into laughter and were clutching at their beds in order to avoid falling over.

Theo and Blaise both looked at the two guffawing Slytherins and then looked at each other again. Theo cleared his throat. "Yeah. Last year was different."

Draco nodded, somewhat absentmindedly and closed his trunk. "Well, I'm all done here. I think I'll head down to the leaving feast." He turned, leaving Blaise and Theo's masked faces behind him.

Later, at the feast, he said beside Crabbe and Goyle, with Blaise and Theo across from them. No one talked much, Harry and the Gryffindors house cup win not sitting right with any of them. Every now and then Draco could tell that Blaise and Theo were studying him, but every time he tried to catch them at it, he found their attention elsewhere.

After the feast, Draco strolled slowly toward the empty classroom where he would be meeting Hermione for the last time this year. He made sure no one was following him, even choosing to take a longer, less direct route.

Opening the door to the classroom, he was unsurprised to find Hermione already there, foot tapping with impatience. "Finally!" she exclaimed. "What took you so long? You left before me, so I hurried here and you were nowhere to be found!"

"Sorry, Blaise and Theo have been acting weird." Draco moved to sit down beside Hermione. "They've been really somber all day and I asked them about it. They didn't say much, but then, all throughout the feast, they were studying me. When I left I didn't want them following me, so just in case I took my time getting here."

Hermione pursed her lips. "Hmm… I hope everything is alright." After a pause, she smiled at Draco. "I have something exciting to tell you!" He smiled back, pleased to be receiving exciting news from his one true friend. Before he could say a word, Hermione blurted out. "I get a time turner next year!"

Draco's eyebrows rise. "Are you serious? Those are extremely rare. How? Why?"

Clearly excited, Hermione sat up straighter and began explaining. Her hands moved as fast as her mouth and Draco could tell that she was incredibly excited for this opportunity. "Well, as you know, I couldn't decide which subjects to start next year. I just chose all of them." Draco nodded, as they had discussed this earlier in the year. "Well, Professor McGonagall spoke with me earlier and said that I would be using one so that I had enough time to take all of my classes. And so that I would have enough time to study for all of my classes as well! Isn't that exciting?"

"Wow, Hermione. That's wonderful." Draco smiled back at her, delighted in how happy learning new things made Hermione. "You'll be able to get so much done."

"I figured that we could find a way to make it work for both of us so that we could both get a lot done. What do you think?"

Draco was impressed. "Wow, Hermione, that would be amazing! Are you sure that it's okay if we both use the time turner?"

"Yes, well, Professor McGonagall already told me that I was not to tell anyone." She shook her head, "Of course I knew that I would be telling you. I figure what she doesn't know can't hurt her. We'll just use the time turner to spend an hour more with each other, with no repercussions. No one will notice that we're gone because we'll be going back in time! It's brilliant, really."

"I like the sound of that." Draco reached out and gathered Hermione into a tight hug. Releasing her, he smiled. "That gives me something to look forward to all summer."

"I figured it might." Hermione smiled softly, "I just wish I could do more."

"Don't worry." Draco hugged Hermione once more and then wished her goodbye since it was getting close to curfew. He watched as she left, waited a couple minutes and then left in a different direction, making his way slowly toward his dungeon room.

Once there, he noticed that Blaise and Theo were waiting for him. "Where did you disappear to?" asked Blaise.

Draco shrugged, giving his housemate a small sneer. "I like to go wandering. Helps clear my brilliant mind." Blaise chuckled and both he and Theo watched Draco slowly get ready for bed.

The next day on the train, Draco chose to sit in a compartment filled with his housemates. He would have preferred to sit alone, if possible, but figured he didn't need to raise any more suspicions from anyone. When the train arrived at platform nine and three quarters, Draco hurried off the train to see her mother standing alone. He glanced quickly around before he was enveloped in a crushing hug by his mother.

As she was hugging him, Narcissa whispered in her son's ear. "Oh, I'm so glad to have you home, my love. He's not coming to get you today." Draco pulled away, worry in his eyes. Narcissa saw and pulled him back for another hug. "Oh, my boy. I'm so sorry. I am so sorry."

His mother's breath hitched and Draco stiffened in her arms. It would not be a good thing for anyone to see his mother crying in public. He pulled away, his eyes widening at the look on his mother's face.

Narcissa wiped her eyes quickly, trying to regain her composure. "Draco…" She met her son's gaze and watched as hope flickered briefly in his grey eyes. "We need a plan."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Eleven

Narcissa looked around at the emptying platform. She needed to go somewhere with Draco, somewhere where people would not be watching. She glanced at her son and noticed his trunk. Calling a house elf, she asked him to take the trunk back to the manor. When she mentioned the manor, she saw Draco's shields fall back into place and got a glimpse of the sullen teenager he would soon become.

Unburdened of the trunk, Narcissa hooked her arm through Draco's and began to lead him toward the entrance to the platform. Clearly confused, Draco remained silent beside her for a couple of blocks into the muggle world. After turning down yet another street that did not lead toward the wizarding section of London, Draco cleared his throat. "Mother?"

Narcissa stopped and looked at her son. He was clearly worried, glancing around them and holding his body in a stiff manner. She gazed at him, wondering how she had let this happen. "Draco, I meant what I said. Your father is not around. You need to relax." She gave him a half smile and continued onward.

Draco stared at his mother for half a second, shook his head and hurried after her. "Where are we headed, Mother?" He looked around but could see no familiar landmarks.

"Just wait, Draco." Narcissa kept her voice light, hoping that she wasn't making him worry more. After a few more minutes of walking, and satisfied that no one was following them, Narcissa pointed to a cafe. "Let's head in there, I could use a cup of tea."

Clearly shocked, Draco followed his mother into the muggle establishment. He watched Narcissa order two teas and hand over a small amount of muggle money. They then sat down with their drinks, Draco's back to the door, Narcissa glancing toward it every now and then. "Mother?" Draco asked, needing a response.

"Draco." Narcissa lifted her tea and took a sip. Setting it back down she glanced at the door again and sighing, looked back to her son. "Draco, I'm so sorry."

"For what, Mother?" Draco looked down at his tea and then back up to his mother. "You're making me feel uneasy."

"Oh my dear, I didn't mean to make you feel like that." Narcissa reached across the table and laid her hand atop her sons. "How much did you hear about what happened at school?"

Eyes on the table, Draco wondered how much to say. "I know about the attacks on the students. And that…" He paused and glanced again at his mother. She gave him a small smile, so he decided to just say it. "I know that Father was involved."

Narcissa's mouth moved into a hard line. She watched her son, who was now looking back down at his drink, and wished that they were not in this position. "Draco, I meant what I said earlier. We need a plan for how to deal with your father."

Draco's shoulders slumped a little more. Thoughts were racing through his brain and he attempted to keep his emotions under control. He glanced up at his mother and then back down at his tea. "Why now, all of a sudden? Why not earlier?"

"Draco…" Narcissa hesitated. Her hand moved a little on her cup, as she considered reaching across the table and touching her son's hand. "I don't have a good explanation. I was so worried for you, that I just tried to do my best with our situation." She paused and finally decided to reach forward and touch Draco's hand. At her touch, Draco stiffened, and Narcissa's heart broke a little more. "I love you more than anything and I thought that we would be safest with the known evil, rather than the unknown. But, after what your father did this year…" She trailed off, her eyes staring behind her son, watching muggles walking by as she waited for her son to speak.

"So now that father is threatening others with harm, you want to shield me?" Draco couldn't believe the words coming out of his mouth. He was ecstatic that his mother wanted to leave his father, yet instead of happiness, bitter thoughts kept flowing out of his mouth.

At Narcissa's tearful look, Draco felt terrible. He opened his mouth to apologize, but Narcissa beat him to it. "No, you're right. I was raised in a house very similar to the one your father runs. I should have done something earlier, but I was too worried. Worried for you, worried for me…" She wiped a tear that had escaped to run down her cheek. "But no more. Not if your father is still following the Dark Lord. I thought it was over long ago. I was terrified for you back then when you were just a baby. I thought that since the Dark Lord was gone, your father might slowly change." Narcissa leaned closer to her son, her eyes wide, but still swimming with tears. "The fact that he endangered a whole school, not even knowing if you would be injured or killed, all in support of that madman, was the last straw."

Draco, deciding to keep any remaining bitter thoughts under wraps, nodded his head slowly. "Okay, Mother. So we need a plan?"

Narcissa sighed and looked a little bit happier. Leaning back in her seat, she smiled at her son. "You remember all the Black family relatives I've drilled into your head, I presume?" Draco nodded his head once more. "Well, I should tell you a bit more about one in particular."

Draco listened intently as Narcissa told him all about the black sheep of the Black family. Growing up, Narcissa and Sirius wound up together at many family functions, being so close in age, compared to the rest of her family. Narcissa explained how, until she was married to Lucius, she and Sirius would sneak out of their houses and get into as much trouble as possible. Sirius had an acute affinity for muggle London and was able to teach Narcissa many important skills.

When she was finished, Draco was impressed. "But, Mother, how does this help with our problem?"

Narcissa smiled and Draco's eyebrows rose. The Black spirit was certainly stirring within his mother. "Draco, we are going to use the muggle world to hide in. I will teach you all I know. This will take some time, certainly. If we worked extremely hard, we might be ready to leave your father within a year or two."

"That long?" Draco's mouth fell open. "Mother, that means…"

Narcissa nodded. "I know. I know you don't want to go back. I've been practicing as best I can," She glanced around the coffee shop and then back at her son. "So much has changed in the years since I married your father. I am trying my best to learn, using the skills that my cousin taught me…" Narcissa trailed off and shook her head sadly. "Unfortunately, it's going to take me some time to practice. And, to teach you what I know will take longer."

"Mother," Draco was still incredulous over this new information and was trying to reconcile his thinking of his meek and mild-mannered mother, sneaking around London with Sirius Black and getting into all kinds of trouble. "I can't believe this. Father has been awful for all of my life and you've had a way to help get me - help get us - out this whole time?"

"I know my love," Narcissa's eyes filled with tears. "I know that it has been terrible. But, I seriously believed I was doing the right thing for you. That even though Lucius was…" She trailed off, looking for the right word.

"Awful? Horrid? A monster?" Draco supplied helpfully, with a little bit of resentment.

With a sigh, Narcissa nodded her head. "Yes. All of that. Draco, you know what it was like to grow up in my house, correct?" Draco hung his head since he was aware that his maternal grandparents had been just as bad, if not worse than Lucius. Narcissa continued, "I knew, growing up, that I would never treat my children the way I was treated by my parents. But, I assumed that my husband would be just as bad." The tears in her eyes started to spill over. "I was so used to it…"

Draco reached across the table and held his mother's hand, feeling incredibly guilty about making his mother cry. Clearing his throat, he tried not to look at his mother, feeling that he would also tear up if he looked up at her. "I apologize, Mother. I can't imagine having two parents who are like Father. I'm grateful I have you." He paused and took a deep breath. "So, you said we need a plan?"

Narcissa let out a brief laugh. "Yes, I did." Draco looked up to meet her eyes, to find that she was gazing at him in a way that made him squirm. "You are the most wonderful boy. And you are going to become a man soon, who will be even better. We need a way to protect you from your father. We also need an errand or task that allows just the two of us to spend several hours in London, as often as we can."

"Do you already have an idea?" Draco asked

"Well," Narcissa straightened in her chair, "I was thinking about private tutors that we had to visit here in London."

"Tutors for what?" Draco asked, warily.

"All kinds of things," Narcissa replied. "Dancing, music, conversation, language…" She trailed off and studied her son. "Things that I've forced you to learn before."

"Exactly." Draco sighed. "How is Father going to accept that I need to go to London often to see a dance tutor when I'm a perfectly capable, pureblood trained, dancer? He knows that I can dance. And my last tutor came to the manor."

"All of this is true." Narcissa smiled at her son. "But, when is the last time he watched you waltz with a young lady?" Draco shrugged. "And the last time he heard you speak French?" Draco thought, but couldn't remember a time. He shook his head. "So, my son, I plan to inform him that Hogwarts is lacking in training you in pureblood customs and that I need to take you to better tutors to cover the fact that you can only see them during breaks"

Draco leaned back and studied his teacup. "Why would he care?"

Narcissa sighed. "Unfortunately, I will have to point out that you are behind other boys your social level. And that if you don't have these skills, we might never land you a _suitable_ wife." She said, her eyes rolling at the word suitable.

Draco stared. It was incredibly hard to believe that this woman was, in fact, his mother.

"I am slightly worried how he will take the fact that I find you lacking though…" She paused and worried her lip. "I don't want him doing anything because he is angry."

"It wouldn't be the first time, Mother," Draco said, shrugging.

Narcissa's mouth moved into a small, thin line. "I will also have to train you in occlumency."

"You know how to do that?" Draco's mouth dropped open, as he stared at his mother again.

"Of course." Narcissa tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "It's how I was able to get away with sneaking out with Sirius and spending so much time in London."

"And we are still talking about the Sirius Black who murdered a bunch of people and is in Azkaban, right?"

"Yes," Narcissa sighed. "Although I never believed that he would have done anything like that, that is the Sirius Black I'm talking about. Sirius is the last person I would believe joined the Dark Lord. He certainly didn't plot James Potter's destruction, he's Harry Potter's godfather, after all."

Narcissa closed her eyes, thinking about her favourite cousin. "Sure, Sirius could be a bit of a hot head but he certainly wasn't a murderer. Sirius was so against anything that had to do with being a proud pureblood member of the Black family. He didn't agree with the family pressure to have me marry your father. I, of course, had to act like I didn't mind, that I wanted to get married" She paused and Draco understood that if his mother had argued, the situation with Lucius would have been even worse. "At any rate, Sirius and I haven't spoken since I married your father. Sirius was still in school, a year younger than me."

Draco was still quite shocked about all of his mother's revelations. "So what is the plan for today, Mother?"

"Well, I wanted to start showing you around Muggle London. I also wanted to get you a Muggle Bank account." Draco raised his eyebrows but remained silent. "When we finally do make our escape from your father, we will have to do so with little to no magical support." Narcissa straightened her shoulders and lifted her nose into the air. "Plus, you are still that evil man's heir and therefore should be able to receive as much of your inheritance as possible."

"So we're going to hide Father's money away in Muggle London?"

"Exactly."

Narcissa smiled at her son and indicated that they should begin to leave the coffee shop. They wandered in London for a couple of hours, Narcissa attempting to explain Muggle things to her son. She took him to the muggle bank and opened an account for him, filling it with a large amount of muggle money. She also set up a safety deposit box and filled it with a large amount of priceless jewelry. At Draco's look, she explained, "Your father doesn't want to see any of the Black pieces that I've inherited. If I wear them…" She trailed off and Draco understood. "It's better for them to be here, in case you ever have need of them."

After spending a few hours in London, Narcissa told Draco that it was time to head home. She watched her son put his shields back into place, shuttering his eyes, and switching from his happy, carefree look to one of emotionless aloofness. Her heart broke even further. Stopping on the sidewalk, she gathered her only child into her arms and held him close. "I'm so sorry, Draco." She whispered against his white blonde hair. "This is all my fault."

Draco shook his head against his mother's shoulder and fought the urge to cry. "No, no one is to blame, except Father."

Narcissa loosened her embrace. Still holding on to Draco, she held him at an arm's length and studied him closely. "You are incredibly brave, my son. I know that you have to prepare yourself, just in case, but your Father is on a business trip and should be gone until next week. It's why I've been able to keep you out in London for such a long time today."

Draco's shoulders sagged in relief. "He's not there?"

Narcissa shook her head. "No, he is in Spain until next Thursday."

"In that case, we should head home and you should start teaching me occlumency." Draco smiled at his mother. "Father shouldn't know a single thing that I've seen or heard today." Silently, Draco also thought about Hermione and the lucky fact that Lucius hadn't picked her out of Draco's head as of yet. Narcissa agreed and whisked her son away to the Manor that they had big plans to escape from.


	11. Chapter 11

Over the course of the summer, Narcissa and Draco continued to practice both muggle skills and occlumency. Narcissa introduced Draco to the goblin who would switch their galleons into muggle money. She stressed how important it was to never ask from anyone else since the goblins usually reported to Lucius. However, this particular goblin had had a nasty run-in with Lucius and no longer cared what happened to his precious money.

Draco's muggle education was progressing nicely, although Narcissa wished that they could spend more time in London. Lucius was not away as often as either Narcissa and Draco wanted, however, he did accept the excuse of French lessons and dancing lessons that Narcissa had insisted on for her precious child.

Narcissa was most happy about Draco's occlumency lessons. After being raised by a terrible father, it seemed that Draco was used to controlling his thoughts and emotions and was able to pick up the skill quite easily. Although being taught occlumency by your mother had the potential to be incredibly embarrassing, Draco's natural skill allowed him to hide even Hermione from his mother's attempts to break into his mind.

Near the end of summer, after a long hour of attempting to break into Draco's head, Narcissa sat back in her chair. "That's it." She smiled at her son, who grinned back at her. "I have nothing more to teach you. I can't get into your head at all anymore, so you are going to need a better teacher than I."

Draco shook his head. "I don't want anyone else near my head, Mother."

"Don't worry." Narcissa stood up and took a few steps to ease the stiffness of sitting for so long. "There are very few people I would trust to attempt to teach you. And none of them are able to be here, so we'll just have to call your training complete."

Feeling very accomplished, Draco stood as well, moving around a little. "Well, if it's okay with you, I'd like to go for a fly." He paused and glanced toward the door. "When is Father due home?"

Narcissa grimaced, "Any minute now."

Draco nodded and escaped the room, intent on getting far away from wherever his father was. While he still felt incredibly guilty for leaving his mother to deal with whatever mood Lucius was in, Narcissa had insisted multiple times that she would rather Draco be out of the line of fire.

Narcissa sat down on one of the beautiful couches and picked up a book.

Only a few minutes after Draco left, the fireplace roared and Lucius stepped out. Narcissa tried to gauge his mood and tipped her head in a small greeting. Not acknowledging he had arrived usually led to far worse things than trying to be polite.

Lucius glanced at his wife while striding over to a chair. Collapsing into it, he barked out an order for Firewiskey. Narcissa moved quickly to fulfill his order, rather than calling on a house elf. Placing the tumbler in his hand, Narcissa moved back to her spot on the couch and reached for her book. She didn't open it, but gazed down at it, waiting for Lucius to begin.

After a minute, during which Lucius drank deeply from the Firewiskey, he cleared his throat. "Your cousin has escaped Azkaban." Narcissa, although shocked at his words, did not allow any of that shock to cross her face. Lucius continued, "As you know, he murdered Pettigrew. And some other filth." he trailed off, studying his wife's face, searching for some weakness that he could exploit. "You used to be close with him, weren't you?"

Narcissa looked up from the book in her lap and met Lucius' eyes. "In my youth, before I knew better."

Pleased with her answer, Lucius leaned back and Narcissa allowed herself to breathe a little. "I don't trust Black. He's from a good family…" He trailed off, glancing at his wife, who was also from the Black family. "But he was friends with blood traitors." Shifting, he held up the glass with the remaining Firewiskey in it. "But he ultimately betrayed them, in the name of our Dark Lord." His eyes met Narcissa's again, "Although he was never present for any meeting that I attended with the Dark Lord."

Narcissa couldn't tell if Lucius wanted a response from her, or not. She erred on the side of caution and kept her mouth shut. After a minute of silence, Lucius asked, "Where is Draco?"

"Outside, practicing his flying skills," she said softly.

Lucius snorted, evidently not thinking much of his son's flying skills thanks to the Quidditch game that he had witnessed last year. Summoning an elf, he barked at it to go and fetch his son.

When Draco appeared before them a few minutes later, he was still clutching his broomstick. He eyed his parents and waited for his father to explain his presence.

"Sit," Lucius commanded.

Draco moved to obey, leaning his broom against the wall before sitting on the same couch as his mother. Lucius' eyes watched his progress, noting that Draco chose to sit closer to Narcissa than himself. "Draco, what do you know of Sirius Black?"

Narcissa held her breath and glanced at her son. She hoped that this first major test of Draco's skills would go well. She also hoped that he would not give anything away by looking toward her.

Steeling himself, Draco attempted to look puzzled. "Sirius Black?" He paused and thought for a second or two. "I remember Mother telling me something about him when we were learning family history before I went to Hogwarts. Something about him being a blood traitor? And ending up in Azkaban, since he was not clever enough to hide away?"

Narcissa kept her face neutral but wanted to smile indulgently at her son. He was doing a fine job thus far.

Lucius narrowed his eyes. "Hmm…" He paused and then his wand appeared, out of nowhere, and Lucius shouted, "Legilimens!"

Draco gasped as he felt his father rummaging around in his mind. As his mother had taught him, all of his important memories were locked away, but day to day things were at hand so that Lucius could think that he was accessing all that Draco had. Draco pulled the memory of Narcissa's teaching to the forefront so that Lucius could see that Narcissa had, in fact, used the same words that Draco had repeated moments ago.

Although he longed to just push his father out of his mind, Draco allowed Lucius to skip over a few memories, boring ones of Draco flying or walking through the halls of Hogwarts. After a few minutes, Lucius left Draco's head and Draco sighed in relief. Bringing a hand to his forehead, as if the action could prevent the headache that usually accompanied having your mind invaded, Draco waited for his father's next action.

Lucius simply stared at his son for a period of time and then slid his eyes to Narcissa. "I'm even more pleased that you are telling the truth, Narcissa." With that, Lucius stood and left the room.

Narcissa and Draco sat in silence while Lucius' footsteps echoed further and further away from their current room. Narcissa took out her wand and murmured something Draco didn't catch, before turning to her son and hugging him close. Draco squirmed for a minute, a typical teenage boy response, before allowing the hug to continue, if only to please his mother.

"I'm so proud of you, Draco." Narcissa let go and smiled at her son. "I can't believe that you were able to resist your father, and after only a short time being instructed. Good job."

Draco nodded his head, which was still pounding after its recent intrusion. "Why is Father so interested in Sirius Black?"

Narcissa bit her lip and glanced toward the door Lucius had left through. "Sirius has escaped Azkaban." At Draco's shocked look, she continued. "I'm not sure how Sirius did it, but I think your father was checking that I wasn't involved."

Stunned, Draco nodded his head once more, his headache becoming worse. "If you'll excuse me, Mother, I think I need to lay down." Narcissa nodded and watched with worried, but proud eyes as her son left the room.

Two weeks later found Draco alone in the manor, his father and mother out attending a ministry function. They were there to lend support to the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge. Draco knew that his father despised Fudge, but Lucius still attended and supported him, so he would be easier to sway on certain decisions.

While Narcissa and Lucius were away, Draco had the run of the manor. Not used to feeling at ease in his home, he generally kept to his room, occasionally leaving to go for a fly. Flying was what he was doing at this moment, making slow circles around the edge of the gardens. Every now and then, he would speed up suddenly, racing toward the sky and then back down to the ground. Afterward, he would continue to make slow circles.

During the slow circles, he thought about the coming year, eager to share his mother's plan with Hermione. Perhaps he could even teach her occlumency. He had no idea where to start, but they could probably research the method. And now that he had found success defending his mind, he might be able to be a good teacher for her.

Hermione. Draco decided to fly higher and higher while thinking of her. He missed her so much. Being separated for so long every summer was just torture. Adding to the fact that she had been petrified for most of the last term, Draco was missing her more than last summer. He paused on his broom, realizing how high he was now.

With a smirk on his face, he hurtled toward the ground, stopping just short of crashing into it. His feet brushed the edges of the grass and he started to climb higher again when a sudden movement in the trees beyond the edge of the gardens caught his eye.

Heart beating faster, Draco grabbed his wand from his pocket and aimed it toward the trees. "Come out!" He shouted, feeling more like the brave Gryffindor that he so desperately wanted to be. "Show yourself!"

There was a faint rustle and then a large black dog appeared before Draco. He paused, wand still raised. The man and the animal watched each other warily for a minute before Draco caved. Putting his wand away, he jumped off of his broom with a smile. He loved animals. Before Lucius had drowned that kitten, Draco had begged and begged for a furry companion. He knew better now, he knew that the dog wouldn't be able to stay. However, Draco wanted to imagine for a minute that this animal would stay and be a companion of sorts. "Hello, there," he said softly as he moved toward the big, black animal.

The dog raised his head and met Draco's eyes. Draco paused for a second, staring back. He then sank to the ground and held up a hand. "Come here, please? I'd like to imagine that you're my dog, if only for a minute or two."

Seeming to understand him, the dog took a couple of steps closer, closing the distance between Draco and itself. Draco waited patiently, his arm extended, for the dog to come closer. As he waited, he noticed that the dog did not look incredibly healthy. Too thin, with a look of neglect. "Hey, there," Draco said softly. "Come here and I'll see about getting you some food."

The dog walked the last couple of steps and laid down at Draco's feet. Draco extended his hand and waited for the dog to sniff it. After a thorough sniff, the dog's tongue extended and gently licked Draco's hand. He smiled and moved closer, slowly, reaching to pet the dog on the neck and back. "Thank you for coming over," Draco whispered to the dog. While he petted the dog, he called gently for a house elf.

When one appeared, the dog froze and Draco stopped petting it, hoping not to agitate the animal. "I'm sorry, you look like you could use a meal. I called a house elf to get you something." He explained to the dog, not sure why he was telling it everything. Looking at the house elf, Draco asked, "Can you bring something for this dog to eat? And, can you not mention it to my father, ever?"

The house elf nodded and popped away. The dog relaxed and Draco resumed petting it. "You are a huge animal," Draco said, conversationally, as they waited for the house elf to reappear. "I wish that I could let you stay here, but my father is terrible."

The dog made a sound, and Draco took that as a cue to go on. "I mean it. He's the worst. He's dangerous, he abuses my mother." Draco pauses. "And me." The dog moved his head slightly and rested it on Draco's leg. Draco smiled down at this and continued. "I'm only allowed to have proper friends, I can't associate with anyone below my station. When I went to Hogwarts two years ago, I hoped and prayed that I would be sorted into a different house. I asked the sorting hat to put me anywhere but Slytherin, but, wouldn't you know it, that's where I ended up."

Draco sighed and the dog snorted. "Want to hear a secret?" He paused, even though the dog wouldn't respond. "I am ignoring everything my father ever taught me. Or beat into me. I am best friends with a muggleborn." Draco scratched the dog behind its ear and its tail thumped on the ground. "Don't tell anyone, of course." Draco smiled at the dog. Before he could continue, the house elf appeared, with what looked to be a whole roast chicken.

The dog jumped to its feet, salivating at the smell of the food the house elf was carrying. Nervously, the house elf set the food on the ground and then disappeared. Draco stayed where he was, watching the dog tear into its meal. When it was finished, it walked slowly back to Draco, sighed and laid down again. With the dog's head in his lap, Draco smiled down at it. "You devoured that chicken. You must have been starving."

Sounds from the manor made both the boy and the dog turn their heads. "Oh no," Draco breathed. "He's angry at her again." Torn between going and trying to help Narcissa and staying safely away from Lucius' anger, Draco nervously played with the scruff on the back of the dog's head. "I wish I could go in there and stop him, once and for all. But if I go in there, I'll probably make it worse. Mother is always telling me to stay away whenever I hear him hurting her. I just feel so awful that I can do nothing to help her."

The dog made a whining sound and Draco hung his head. "Okay, I should go back, if only so I can be a punching bag when he is done with her." Rubbing the dog's ears one last time, Draco takes a deep breath. "Thanks for listening."

As Draco walked away carrying his broomstick, the huge black dog sat up, watching him.

Before Draco could enter the manor, the house elf that had brought the dog food appeared before him. "Young master, I just brought the dog more food. He looked like he could use at least four more chickens."

Chuckling briefly, Draco thanked the elf and dismissed her. Resuming his neutral expression, he opened the door quietly and headed up to his room, feeling like an absolute coward. If he rushed to his mother's defense, Lucius would probably only become angrier. Narcissa had told him for almost thirteen years to not feel guilty and to stay far away.

Once in his room, Draco leaned his broomstick against a wall and sat down in a chair, looking out over the back gardens. He wanted to still see the silhouette of the dog, but it was too dark to tell if it was still out there.

The next week, Narcissa took Draco back to school shopping. Lucius was on another business trip and Narcissa's bruises had either all healed or had been charmed invisible. She and Draco tried to finish their tasks quickly, replenishing his potions ingredients and purchasing new school uniforms, since he had grown again. Once their shopping was complete, Narcissa took Draco to Gringotts. They hurtled down, down, down in a cart until finally stopping at the vault that Narcissa had before she was married. They entered together, grabbing any jewelry, goblets or figurines that they could see. Afterward, they headed out into muggle London, intent on putting more of the priceless jewels and gold into a lockbox.

Mission complete, Narcissa took Draco back to Diagon Alley, for ice cream. While there, Draco saw a couple of schoolmates, including Harry Potter. Instead of calling attention to himself, Draco shrank back into his chair and hoped that Potter didn't notice him. He was not in the mood to play evil Draco in front of his mother.

Narcissa noticed Draco's actions but chose not to comment. When they were safely back at home, Narcissa gestured at a chair and once her son had sat down, put her hands on her hips.  
"What was that about?"

Draco hung his head. "You know how Father wants me to behave in public." Narcissa started to put the pieces together in her head, but remained silent, waiting for Draco's confession. "I am awful at school, Mother. Especially to Harry and those who are 'beneath' me. I had no desire to be rude to Potter, so I tried not to have him notice me."

Narcissa sighed and sat down across from her son. "I know what living with Lucius has done to you, Draco. I wish that you didn't have to hide behind terrible actions. But I also know that you are a lot safer with those actions. I'm sorry."

Draco nodded, staring at his shoes. "You said at the beginning of summer that our plan would take some time. Would we be able to leave after my third year?"

"Oh Draco, I wish we could." Narcissa sighed again. "I think the best timing will be after your fourth year. One more summer. Can you manage that?"

Draco met his mother's eyes. "Can you?"

Narcissa waved her hand, "Don't worry about me." Draco shook his head but didn't argue. "Now, you have all your school supplies, you have one last day to yourself tomorrow. The day after that your Father and I will be taking you to platform nine and three quarters."

Nodding his head, Draco stood up and left the room. Once he was gone, Narcissa allowed a couple of tears to fall, before composing herself and leaving the room as well.


	12. Chapter 12

September 1st had, within the past few years, become one of Draco's favourite days. Even the threat of his father's presence beside him on the platform did little to dampen Draco's mood. He knew better, of course, than to let his happiness show in his voice or words. As the clock ticked closer to 11:00, Draco turned to his parents. Narcissa pulled him into a tight hug and Lucius clapped him on the shoulder. For all those watching, they looked like a regular family, lovingly saying goodbye to their only son. However, Draco was able to see the cold light in his father's eyes and the wariness in his mother's. Draco said goodbye and turned to get onto the train.

The compartment that he occupied was filled with Slytherins, most of whom were in Draco's year. He sat silently, listening to his classmates tell each other of their wonderful summers. Although it was a Wednesday and Hermione and Draco planned to meet that night, Draco was incredibly impatient to see Hermione. After struggling to control the desire to get up and find her for half the journey, Draco's impatience won the day. He stood up and muttered something about stretching his legs. Crabbe and Goyle also stood, indicating that they would like to come with him. Smirking, Draco nodded and led the way out of the compartment. Evil Draco was not a character that he liked to portray, but if he wanted to see Hermione, Draco would have to find her and, more than likely, say some terrible things once again. But, he rationalized, at least that meant he would be able to see Hermione. Crabbe and Goyle followed behind him, painting a menacing picture as the group stalked the corridor.

Draco spotted Hermione in a compartment, of course with Harry and Ron. He also noted the sleeping man in the compartment, which he figured would help ensure nothing too nasty occurred. He, Harry, and Ron exchanged words. Draco was incredibly careful to not speak a word to Hermione. After not seeing her for two long months, he did not want his first words to her to be from evil Draco. He was able to glance at her a few times and she returned his glances, a small smile on her face that she quickly wiped away so as to maintain their illusion. Draco allowed himself to be scared away by the prospect of the sleeping professor and returned to his compartment with Crabbe and Goyle.

When the train ground to a halt, the Slytherins in the compartment started complaining. Draco let his voice join with the others, to blend in. However, when the Dementor entered their part of the train, the room fell silent. Draco froze. He knew what Dementors were and he was also aware of their effects. He had no desire to relive every terrible moment with his father. Draco stood and moved quickly to the compartment door and flew down the corridor, in the opposite direction of the Dementor.

Unfortunately, the despair followed him and, with no other choice, he turned into a random compartment and allowed the awful memories to overcome him. The Dementor did not pause long and soon was moving further down the train, toward Hermione's compartment. Draco took a deep breath and glanced at the occupants of the room he had tried to hide in. Two Weasleys and a couple of older students he didn't know by name. All of them were pale. Draco attempted to put a sneer on his face, but his mood was so affected by reliving some of his father's worst moments that the sneer was half-hearted. He stood up and fled the room before anyone could say anything.

After the Dementor, Draco was on autopilot. He went through the motions of being evil Draco and managed to get up to the feast in one piece. During dessert, he helped himself to a few chocolate things and started to feel marginally better. Once the feast was over, Draco headed to his and Hermione's meeting spot to wait for her. He waited a little longer than normal before Hermione came rushing in. "Sorry, I had to go up to our common room before coming here. I'm so happy to see you!" She pulled him into a hug and then held him at arm's length. "You're taller." She accused him, her eyes narrowing.

Draco chuckled. "Sorry, I must have had a growth spurt over the summer." It was true, since June he had had to get new robes. He was now a full head taller than Hermione. "Come and sit, tell me all about your summer."

Hermione obliged. "I had a great summer. The summer felt so short. My parents and I were in France for a large part of the summer. There were so many things to do, but I also managed to do some extra reading." She paused and shot Draco a glance. "How was your summer?"

"Actually, it wasn't the worst summer." At Hermione's raised brow, he continued. "My mother is helping us."

"What do you mean," asked Hermione.

Draco cleared his throat. "Well, she has decided that we should leave my father. She doesn't want to rush into it and needs to prepare us for it, but she has a plan to leave with me by the summer of fourth year." Draco proceeds to outline his mother's plan, including the muggle lessons, bank account and safety deposit box full of jewels. "Also, she taught me occlumency. I'm actually good at it. We should work on it more this year. You're going to need it eventually."

Hermione looked taken aback. "I can't believe how much you did this summer! It's amazing! How did your mother know all of these things?"

"She said it was from a cousin of hers, from the Black family."

Alarmed, Hermione asked "Sirius Black?" Draco nodded and Hermione recoiled. "Draco, Sirius Black shouldn't be trusted. Apparently, according to Mr. Weasley, the reason Sirius Black broke out of Azkaban was to murder Harry!"

Draco furrowed his brows. "Are you sure? According to my mother, there is no way that Sirius could be a murderer. And she said that he is Harry's godfather. I can't imagine a man plotting to murder his godson."

"Are you sure?" Hermione looked scandalized. "Harry's godfather? Harry isn't going to take that well. Do you know the whole story?"

Shaking his head, Draco continued to speak. "No, I don't. I just know that he and my mother used to sneak around muggle London and now she's teaching me how to blend in. We rode on the underground!" Draco saw that Hermione still was not convinced. "Look, I know it's kind of crazy to say, but trust me. My mother knows a couple of things about evil men. And in her opinion, Sirius Black is not an evil man." Hermione thought this over and slowly nodded her head. "Okay," Draco continued, "Thank you for trusting us. I'm sure it won't make that much of a difference anyway, but it is nice to think of being related to at least one good guy." Draco paused and realized, "Oh! We haven't even talked about your time turner, yet. Can I see it?"

Beaming, Hermione pulled the time turner out from beneath her robes. "Professor McGonagall gave it to me earlier. I can't wait to use it. She went over a ton of rules, the most important one is not being seen. Do you want to test it out?"

"I would love to. What does not being seen mean, in particular?"

Hermione sighed. "Well, there is some matter of disappearing in front of people, reappearing an hour in the past. Also, you can't run into yourself. Ever."

Draco nodded. "That makes sense. I know that if I encountered myself I wouldn't think about asking questions first."

"Exactly." Hermione toyed with the chain on the time turner. "I suppose we can't test it here, since going an hour back in time would mean running into ourselves in this room."

"We definitely can test it." Draco paused to think. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but we could spend however long we want in here. We have to be in here for at least an hour. And then we can leave the room and go back in time just outside the door. As long as we time it right, our past selves should be in here talking. All we have to do is go our separate ways and not enter this room. Then we won't run into ourselves."

"That's perfect!" Hermione exclaimed. "The added benefit of it is that we won't actually be missing from wherever we are supposed to be. We'll be able to spend as much time together as we want, and still be able to study! Or spend time with friends." She paused, and then continued cheekily, "Or with quidditch."

Draco laughed, "it does sound perfect. Should we perhaps stick to our three regular meeting times? Although I would love to spend more time with you, I also know the reason that you have the time turner is all of the extra work that you will have to get through thanks to all of your extra classes."

Hermione nodded, still excited. "Yes, I will have lots of work to do. I can't wait."

Draco shook his head and changed the topic. "What did you think of those animagus books?"

"I thought they were perfect, just what we needed. I suppose that we can do some of the steps this year. But the mandrake leaf?" Hermione paused and looked thoughtful. "I don't know when we can possibly do that portion. I mean, I could over the summer. But will you be able to keep a mandrake leaf in your mouth for an entire month over the summer and then brew an incredibly difficult potion?"

"No, I don't think I could do it over the summer. I was actually thinking of doing it this year."

"During the school year?" Hermione looked scandalized once again. "But then you couldn't answer any questions from any professors!"

Draco laughed, sharply. "I'm sure that I could manage to be quiet in class for a month. Could you?"

Hermione did not answer him, instead, she looked thoughtful. "I could probably try. What do you think? Should we be prepared to do the mandrake leaf at some point this year? I mean, I have the time turner, so if we needed extra time with the potion or meditating, we'd have it with the help of the time turner."

"I think that's a great idea. Professor Sprout still had mandrakes in greenhouse three. I'm sure one of us could go in and grab two leaves at any point. Do they have to be fresh?"

Hermione opened up one of the animagus books that she had brought with her and the two of them poured over the text. Soon, an hour had passed and Hermione cleared her throat and motioned to the time turner. "So? Should we try this thing out?" Draco nodded eagerly and got to his feet, pulling Hermione to hers shortly after. Draco exited their room first, glancing around and then opened the door again to allow Hermione to exit as well. With no one around, Hermione stepped close to Draco and put the chain of the time turner around Draco as well. She took a deep breath and flipped the time turner once. Suddenly both Draco and Hermione felt the strange sensation of flying backward. The hallway blurred briefly and then came back into focus. Gasping, Hermione clutched at Draco's shoulder. "That was not pleasant."

Draco chuckled, "I think we're going to have to get used to that sensation."

Hermione nodded and removed the chain from around Draco's neck. Tucking the time turner away, she glanced up at Draco. "How can we be sure it worked?"

"Well, I would assume that whatever that sensation was, meant that the time turner worked. What do you think?"

Hermione opened her eyes wide and waved her hands to make Draco be quiet. "Shhh!" They both stopped and listened. Taking a step toward the closed door, Hermione tilted her head. She could hear her voice, talking about Sirius Black. "It's us, an hour ago, talking about Sirius Black," Hermione whispered to Draco.

"Cool," Draco whispered back. Taking a few steps away from the door, he continued to speak in a whisper. "We should get going, I don't want anyone to catch us out in the hallway, least of all ourselves."

Hermione nodded and smiled. "You're right. Meet again on Friday?"

Draco nodded and then watched as Hermione walked away. He turned in the opposite direction and headed toward his common room. Being back at Hogwarts made Draco so incredibly happy that, for a moment, he didn't even regret needing to act like evil Draco when others were around. His friendship with Hermione meant so much that it seemed like all the wrongs in his world melted away and didn't exist for his brief few hours with her.


	13. Chapter 13

The school year started out much the same as usual. Draco went to his classes wearing his evil Draco smirk. He made snide comments about others, sometimes in their hearing, sometimes not. His fellow Slytherins helped him tease Harry about the Dementors on the train. As usual, Draco felt bad about what he said and did, but each night that Hermione met with him helped to reassure that the act he was playing was important.

Their first Care of Magical Creatures class was an unexpected hurdle. When he was in the hospital wing, after Buckbeak's attack, he decided that he was never going to pretend to be evil Draco around an animal ever again. Although, pretending that his arm still hurt allowed him a few more opportunities to be awful around Harry, in particular. The one thing that didn't play into his hand was his father's response to his injury.

Draco, perhaps foolishly, had believed that his father wouldn't particularly care that he had gotten injured in class. Draco had assumed that his father would have shrugged his shoulders over Draco's injury since he routinely was more injured at home. However, Lucius had launched a full-scale campaign in order to destroy Hagrid and the Hippogriff. Draco had heard from Hermione that Hagrid was distraught and he felt more guilt about his role and how stupid he had been.

Hermione continued to meet with Draco and they both used the time turner each time. Hermione needed to use it, in order to keep up with her new classes and continue to read ahead in Defense and Potions. Their work on becoming animagi was stalled, however. They read that the mandrake leaf had to be freshly picked and neither one of them could imagine staying silent for an entire month. Although Hermione pointed out, they still would be able to talk, briefly. They just had to be careful no one noticed that their mouths were full when they did speak.

One night, Hermione and Draco stayed in their room past curfew, attempting to brew a Draught of Peace, a potion from the fifth year potions textbook. Once they managed it, they were able to go back in time to right after they entered their room and then go their separate ways. Hermione had hurried off to finish some Runes work. Draco, however, had had an entire evening to himself. He quickly went to his room to grab his broom and headed off to the quidditch pitch.

After the first Hogsmeade visit, Hermione waited impatiently for Draco to arrive in their room. Once he did, she glanced at her watch, to see what time they would be able to go back to, when they used the time turner. She smiled at Draco, "Hey, nice to see you. Did you enjoy Hogsmeade?"

Draco smiled back, "Hello Hermione, I loved it. I've been a couple of times, but my mother prefers to shop in Diagon Alley. It was nice to get out of the castle and do something different."

"I know what you mean." Hermione paused and looked uncertain.

"What is it?"

"Well, a couple of things happened today, that I think you should know about." Draco motioned for her to go on and she did. "Well, first thing, you know how Harry wasn't allowed to go to Hogsmeade?" When Draco nodded, she continued. "Well, he came today."

"How?" Draco was impressed. Harry always managed to do the impossible.

"The twins gave him this map. It's called the Marauder's map. It has the entire castle on it, the grounds and everyone in it."

"Everyone in it?" Confused, Draco felt his heart start beating faster. "Like, he can see where everyone is in the entire castle, at all times?" Hermione nodded glumly. Draco stood up. "Then he can see we are together right now? You should go! Our secret could be found out!" As he started to panic, Hermione also stood and tried to reassure him. "Hermione, if my father found out we were friends, he would stop at nothing to hurt you. You have to leave, meeting me isn't safe!"

Draco's hands were in his hair, pulling and messing it up. Hermione laid a hand on his shoulder and he stopped pulling but left his hands in his hair. He looked toward Hermione, worry in his eyes. "I know you're worried, but I think we should be fine." Draco opened his mouth to argue, but Hermione cut him off. "I do think we'll be fine because we aren't really together right now." She continued to explain her theory as she pulled on Draco's arms, getting him to release his hair and start to calm down. "I have done a lot of reading about time travel. And we've been very careful so far. Every time we've met this year, we've been turning back the time and then using that extra hour, or two, or three in a different way. As long as we continue to do that, Harry can look at his map and see us together and start to worry and plan to confront me, but as soon as we go back in time, we were never together. And when he looks at his map, he'll see me in the library, or you on the quidditch pitch. It's brilliant, actually. The only way he could see us together is if we don't use the time turner. It's our own little loophole."

Draco stared at Hermione, thinking her theory over. "Are you sure?" Hermione nodded and Draco shook his head. "I feel like a time loophole is stretching it a bit. We can't be sure it'll work."

"Well, do you want to test it? I could ask Harry to look at the map and find me for some reason the next time we are together. And then when we use the time turner we will know for sure if it worked or not. If he asks about us together, I can just make up a run in and a nasty fight. And if he doesn't ask, then we know that we have a loophole."

"No, no, I don't want to risk it." Draco shook his head. "I'm too worried for your safety."

Hermione sighed. "Fine. So what do we do about the map? I don't want to stop seeing you."

Draco paused to think. "Are you sure that the map shows everything? Is it enchanted? Can it be tricked?"

Looking thoughtful, Hermione tapped her lips. "Hmm, maybe." Her eyes brightened. "I can probably try to look at the map. Harry will probably lend it to me. Or I can just take it for a bit." She continued to think this over.

Draco cleared his throat, "Was there something else that happened today?"

"Oh yes," Hermione's eyes widened. "Because Harry had this new map, he was able to come to Hogsmeade through one of the secret tunnels out of the castle. While there, we were able to overhear some interesting things about Sirius Black." Hermione continued to tell Draco all they had overheard. When she was finished, she looked worried, wondering how Draco would take her news.

"Interesting." Draco paused. "I didn't know that the Potters had done a Fidelius Charm."

"That's the part you're interested in?" Hermione exclaimed

"Well, I believe my mother that Sirius Black isn't a bad guy. All of the stories you heard today were all second hand, no one who was actually there was able to tell their version. Who would want to kill their best friend?"

"Draco -"

Draco waved his hand and cut Hermione's protest off. "My father even said that Sirius was never at any Death Eater meetings. He would know." Draco sighed. "Let's agree to disagree. I'll maybe ask my mother more about the guy. But Harry shouldn't be worried. I really doubt that Sirius is trying to hurt him."

Hermione stubbornly asked, "What about attacking the portrait of the entrance to Gryffindor?"

Draco shrugged. "As I said, we don't know the full story."

Hermione made a sound, clearly in disagreement with Draco's assessment. "Well, that was all I had to tell you. Are you prepared to go home this week?"

"Actually, yes." Draco's eyes lit up. "I received a letter this morning, from my mother telling me my father was away on business." Draco hesitated and then continued, "If you're okay with it, I was planning on picking a Mandrake leaf right before we left on the break. I think my mother would be okay with me trying to become an animagus. I will try to keep it a secret, but if she guesses, it's fine with me. And that way, I can get most of the month of silence out of the way over the break. What do you think?"

"Oh, Draco!" Hermione beamed at him. "That sounds like a wonderful idea. I'm so glad your father will be away and you'll be able to enjoy your Christmas. Are you sure that you want your mother to know about the Mandrake leaf?"

"I don't think she'll mind. She wants us to be prepared to leave my father and I think that managing to become an animagus is something that will help. Besides, she won't tell anyone. She's a lot better at occlumency than you are."

Blushing, Hermione swatted Draco's arm. "I'm working on it. Not all of us can be natural talents at concealing our thoughts. I wish I could start over the break as well. We're going to have different times for our potions."

Draco nodded. "I know, but maybe this will be easier. It's such a tricky potion that it might be better to brew them at separate times, instead of attempting to do two difficult potions at the same time."

"I suppose." Hermione sighed. "I hope I don't have to wait until summer to try and brew it."

"I'm sure you'll be able to figure out a time to do it."

"You're right." Glancing at her watch again, Hermione grimaced. "I have a ton of work to be doing, for all of my classes. Is it okay if we call it quits early tonight?" Draco nodded and the two of them stepped into the hall. One quick trip back in time and they headed off in their separate directions.


	14. Chapter 14

The morning the Hogwarts Express was due to leave for Christmas break, Draco walked quickly and, as sneakily as possible, down to the greenhouses. He put on earmuffs before entering Greenhouse Three. Spotting the Mandrakes, he quickly walked over and grabbed a leaf off of a depressed looking adult Mandrake. Stuffing it into his mouth, he then left the greenhouse and snuck back up to the school. Removing his ear muffs, he headed to his dorm to check that he was completely packed and then headed down to breakfast.

No other Slytherins in his year were around, either choosing to sleep in on their first morning of the break or already off doing something. He sat in silence and chanced a glance toward Hermione and the rest of the Gryffindors at her table. She met his eye and raised her eyebrows, knowing that he had planned to get a Mandrake leaf this morning. He moved his mouth slightly and then looked away.

When he looked back a couple of minutes later, Hermione was smiling as she listened to her friends. She made eye contact once more and smiled a little wider. Hermione then quickly averted her eyes and returned to concentrating on Harry's story.

Later, on the train, Draco chose to sit in a different compartment from the rest of his classmates. He brought a book and tried to read it as the rest of the occupants, mostly older Hufflepuffs, talked and joked.

When the train arrived in London, Draco set his shoulders. He had meant what he said to Hermione, it didn't matter to him if his mother found out about trying to become an animagus. He was a little worried that she would think he was too young and try and get him to wait a little longer. Hopping off the train, Draco spotted his mother, alone and looking positively delighted. What a change from when he left her in September. Smiling at his mother, Draco walked forward into her waiting arms.

After a long hug, Narcissa charmed Draco's trunk invisible and then again to follow them and they headed to the line up to leave platform nine and three quarters. During the wait to leave the station and their subsequent walk to the closest floo, Draco remained silent. Narcissa glanced at her son, several times, wondering why he wasn't speaking to her.

When they reached the floo, Draco realized that he would have to say the words "Malfoy Manor" in order to get home. When his mother handed him the bag of floo powder, he sighed. Walking into the flames he mumbled "Malfoy Manor."

Draco was surprised that he did, in fact, arrive where he meant to be. He quickly turned from the fire, intending to head to his room. Unfortunately, his mother arrived right behind him in the fireplace.

"Wait just a minute, Draco," Narcissa said softly. "I'd like to know what is going on." Draco turned toward his mother and shrugged. Narcissa raised her eyebrows. "I know you officially became a teenager this summer, but I do not remember such behaviour then. Is something the matter?" Her eyes began to fill with tears. "I am worried about you."

Seeing his mother upset because of him broke Draco's heart. "I'm sorry," he muttered.

Narcissa's eyes stopped filling and narrowed. "Why are your words all garbled? I taught you better diction than that. Do you have something in your mouth?"

Draco sighed. Half an hour in his mother's presence and he was already found out. "I do have something in my mouth. It has to stay there." Although he attempted to speak those words, what came out was a garbled mess. He swallowed and moved the Mandrake leaf to the side of his mouth, trying to stash it in his cheek like a chipmunk.

Narcissa bit her lip as she listened to her son. And, as she watched the mound move into one of Draco's cheeks, she laughed. "Did you have to grab such a large leaf, Draco?" Draco's eyes widened and Narcissa shook her head. "Don't worry, I knew someone who tried this as well. He tried it a little later in school than you are." She paused, thinking. "I hope you know what you are doing." Draco nodded and smiled at his mother. "Okay, I won't make you speak a ton this break. Luckily for you, you'll be more than half done by the time you get back to the castle. I suppose you chose to do this after I wrote that your father wouldn't be home?" Draco nodded again and Narcissa sighed. "Here I am thinking, we'll have a great holiday alone and my son just wants to sit in silence."

Draco hung his head and Narcissa laughed. "I'm teasing you, my love. Head up to your room, relax. I want to do some muggle lessons tomorrow if you're up for it." Draco nodded once more and headed off to his rooms.

The rest of the break went by so quickly, Draco was amazed. He and his mother had a lovely time, going on muggle excursions and celebrating the Christmas season. They even decorated their tree themselves, instead of leaving it for the elves to do, as was usual in Lucius' household. Draco tried to speak to his mother, but his words were often too garbled for her to understand. Despite that, Narcissa commented that it was the most wonderful Christmas she'd had in a long, long time. Draco wholeheartedly agreed.

The morning Draco was due to return to school, Narcissa asked how much longer he needed to have the Mandrake leaf in his mouth. Draco garbled through his explanation of a month and the moon cycle and how the leaf had to be fresh before dropping his head and muttering that he had chosen to have it in longer and it would be ready on the full moon. Narcissa laughed and said she was so happy that his little project wouldn't interfere with school too much.

When they arrived together at King's Cross, Narcissa sighed. "I know you are where you need to be and you are learning so much at Hogwarts, however, if I could keep you here with me, the whole year." Narcissa trailed off and Draco looked stricken. Narcissa took one look at his face and immediately corrected herself, "Oh! I don't mean to be with your father or as a protector or anything. I just meant, when he isn't around, I love how happy and carefree you are. This break was such a joy, it will keep me full of happiness for quite some time." Draco smiled sadly at his mother, knowing that his father was due home within the next week.

Narcissa bade Draco farewell and Draco boarded the train. He, once again, sat away from his classmates, this time sitting with a bunch of Slytherin first years. They glanced at him, nervously, throughout the train ride, but Draco did his best to ignore them. He stuck with their group, trying to seem aloof and uncaring about who he was with, for the carriage ride back to the castle. Once there, he headed immediately to the empty classroom that he and Hermione met in. He didn't expect to see her there, but he did want to avoid talking to anyone for the next ten days, if possible, so hiding was his best option.

When he entered the room, Draco was taken aback to see Hermione there. He glanced at his watch, it was automatic now to check the time so that they could plan what time they were able to travel back in time to. Tucking his mandrake leaf into the side of his mouth, he walked over and sat down beside her. "I didn't expect to see you here, I was coming to hide."

With the mandrake leaf in his mouth, his words didn't come out with perfect diction, but Hermione was able to understand. She smiled at him and pushed her mandrake leaf to the side to answer back. "I'm hiding too."

Draco laughed. "You did it too! Did you start at the same time?"

Shaking her head, Hermione glumly explained, "No, I decided to start right after Christmas day."

"What happened?"

"Well, Harry got a Firebolt for Christmas," Hermione explained how she had gone to McGonagall, to tell her about this insane present and how she suspected it might have been from someone intending to do harm to Harry. "Of course, Harry and Ron are livid that I would value their safety over a dumb broomstick and haven't spoken to me since."

Draco raised his eyebrows. "Are you kidding? They haven't spoken to you since Christmas?"

Hermione shook her head again and fell silent.

Draco let the silence stretch for a few minutes and then cleared his throat. "Well, I'm sorry that your friends are being so rude, but at least you are able to get away with a mandrake leaf in your mouth, without them being suspicious."

"There are upsides, I guess," Hermione said, bitterly. "Thank you for not mentioning the dumb broom as well. It's like I took away the most precious thing on Earth, according to them."

Laughing, Draco shrugged. "I would love a Firebolt but I would enjoy being alive more. Who do you think sent him the broom?"

Hermione's eyes dropped to the floor. "Sirius Black."

Draco shook his head and sighed. "I asked my mom more about him. She said that he was best friends with James Potter and, while he loved to break the rules, he was, as she put it, a typical Gryffindor. She said he was wickedly smart, very brave, incredibly noble and unquestioningly loyal. According to her, he was the best person. I can tell she misses him a lot." He smiled at Hermione, who still looked rather guilty. "I know I'm not convincing you at all and that, like with this dumb broom, you'd rather be careful than allow someone to get hurt, but I just can't believe he's a bad guy. But, I am not going to argue with you. We'll just see who is right in the end."

"It's going to be me," Hermione said, with a smile. "I love being right."

"I know you do." Draco pulled his pack closer and opened it to get a quill and some parchment. "So now that we both have mandrake leaves, we have to plan when to do the potion. The full moon is soon. Will your mandrake leaf be ready in time?

"Yes. You will have your leaf in an extra couple of days but mine is ready the exact day of the full moon."

Counting forward, Draco wrote down the date of the full moon, for the third week of January. "We have all of the ingredients. Mother took me shopping and just looked away when I bought double of everything we needed. But we still need the tricky elements, the moonlight, and the dew. We're going to have to sneak out that night."

"Wait, your mother knows that I'm doing this too?"

Draco paused and then glanced over at Hermione. "My mother doesn't know about you."

Hermione's jaw dropped. "Are you kidding me? I thought you had told her everything. And you even did occlumency training with her."

"Remember how I said I have a natural talent with that?" Hermione nodded and Draco continued. "I kept her away from any memories I have of you. You're too important for even my mother to know about. I know that she can defend herself against my father, through a mental assault, but . . ." Draco trailed off. "I just worry that one day, somehow, she could let it slip, even unintentionally. I was proud that I was able to keep you a secret from my mother, it proved that I was really good at occlumency." Draco chanced a glance at Hermione, to see her just as stunned as before. "I want to protect you. From even my mother."

Hermione shook her head. "But there is no reason to protect me from her. I think you're just being paranoid."

Draco laughed. "Isn't there a muggle saying about pots and pans or something? And they're both black?"

Hermione sighed. "The saying is about the pot calling the kettle black. I'm not being paranoid though."

"What about the dumb broomstick and my mother's innocent cousin?"

Pressing her lips together, Hermione pointed at Draco's parchment and attempted to change the subject.

Later, when Hermione was pulling the time turner out and preparing to fling it over both of them, Draco stopped her. "Can we not go back in time? I'm exhausted and I just want to sleep. You also look like you could use some sleep, you've yawned at least ten times. Instead of going back in time, let's just go back to our rooms."

"What if Harry was checking his map and saw us together?"

Draco shrugged. "Isn't he mad at you? Why would he be checking his map?"

Hermione considered this and then agreed. "Fine. Bed, I guess." Tucking the time turner back underneath her robes she smiled at Draco and leaned in for a hug. "Thank you, for everything. Have a good start to term tomorrow."

"You too."

Hermione strode off in one direction and Draco headed the opposite way. He wandered toward his common room and into his room. His classmates were also preparing for bed and a couple of them called out greetings. Draco nodded in their direction and flashed a quick smile, before heading to his bed. Behind the privacy of his curtains, Draco closed his eyes and did his meditations about becoming an animal. He fell asleep thinking about the potion they would need to prepare soon to become animagi.


	15. Chapter 15

The next few weeks passed quickly. Hermione and Draco planned their moonlight outing as much as they could. They planned to sneak out of the castle and into the edge of the forbidden forest in order to be in the moonlight and collect the dew.

The morning of the full moon Draco woke early, eager to get started on the process of becoming an animagus. He was also quite eager to not have a Mandrake leaf in his mouth anymore. At breakfast, he glanced over at Hermione, who was still being ostracized by Harry and Ron. Glaring at the two boys, Draco thought about what evil Draco could say to Harry and Ron to get back at them for being so mean to Hermione. Since the Mandrake leaf would be out tonight, Draco started planning a confrontation tomorrow, maybe before Care of Magical Creatures.

The rest of the day seemed to drag by. Draco kept checking the time and finding out that almost no time had passed since the last time he checked the time. Finally, about a half hour before curfew, Draco met Hermione outside their usual classroom.

They had decided earlier that they would not be using the time turner, on the off chance that the potion was ruined or altered in some way by flying backward in time. Therefore, Hermione had slipped into Harry's room and borrowed two important items: his cloak and his map.

Draco was eager to look at the map, Hermione, however, had seen it before and was more anxious to get outside the castle before they were caught. They put the cloak on and practiced walking together under it for a few minutes, before starting their slow journey outside. Thanks to the map, they did not encounter any teachers and therefore didn't need the cloak, but Draco was glad to have it just in case.

Once outside, they moved a little more quickly toward the edge of the forest. Hermione had taken a few hours earlier this week, thanks to her time turner, to scout out a clearing close to the edge of the forest that they could use. Once they were in the moonlight soaked clearing, Hermione and Draco quickly got to work. Hermione set up the potion base they had already created while Draco set out the vials, exposing them to the light of the moon.

"Ready?" Hermione turned to Draco, who nodded. Together, they spit their Mandrake leaves into the vials. Hurriedly, Hermione took a couple of steps into the forest and returned with some dew. Draco added his hair to his vial, along with the chrysalis. Hermione followed suit. Holding his breath, Draco watched as Hermione tipped the silver spoon containing the dew first over her own vial, then over his. They watched for a moment as the mixture changed colours briefly, before ending up a dull grey.

"Did it work?" Draco whispered, aware that the forest was not a place to be too loud.

Hermione shrugged. "The book doesn't say. We followed the steps exactly. We now have to wait for a lightning storm. The first time there is a lightning storm, the potion should turn blood red. Then we'll know if we were successful." Draco nodded. They had been over this before, however, Draco's excitement had caused him to ask the question he already knew the answer to. With the vials in hand, Hermione waited as Draco erased their presence in the clearing. Once the evidence had been cleared, Draco joined Hermione and threw the cloak back over their heads. They quietly made their way back to the castle and down to their abandoned classroom.

Inside the classroom, Draco kept an eye on the map, making sure no teacher was close, while Hermione placed their vials into the container they had created for the purpose of storing their animagus potion. The container had many enchantments placed upon it, such as a cooling charm and a sound dampening charm. Draco had managed to place a notice me not charm on the container as well, just in case someone other than the two of them wandered into their classroom.

As Draco studied the map, he listened to Hermione grumbling about the container and the lack of decent security in the room. They had been discussing and arguing over finding a new place to meet for quite some time now. The final straw for Hermione was realizing that they would have to leave their precious animagus potion unguarded for a majority of the time that it was created.

Draco maintained that this was their third year using the classroom and that no one had found them yet. Moving might be back luck and what if someone found them in their new spot?

Finally satisfied that the potions were as safe as they could be, Hermione rejoined Draco, who was still studying the map. "Okay, Draco, I think we can head to our dorms. I'll drop you off first and then take the cloak and the map up to my dorm." Draco nodded, still studying the map. Hermione waited a moment and then, frustrated, hissed "what is with you and this silly map?"

Smiling at Hermione, Draco shrugged. "I think it's fascinating. I was actually looking at something." Draco pointed to a corridor he walked by often. "I don't know if it is complete though, I'm pretty sure there is a door here. The map doesn't show a room beyond it though."

Hermione glanced down. "It could be a wall pretending to be a door."

"No, I've definitely been in that room before." Draco traced the lines of the map around the seventh floor corridor that he knew so well. "I used to get lost here a lot. There's a tapestry right here and there's always a door across from the tapestry."

"What was in the room?" Hermione asked.

"Once, when I was trying to get to Ancient Runes, I forgot I was on the seventh floor. I opened the door and it looked exactly like the Ancient Runes classroom. I sat down for a minute and wondered where everyone was. Then I realized that I was on the seventh floor, not the sixth floor. I haven't been back."

Hermione pursed her lips and looked closer at the map. "Well, it could be a mistake? Or you were even more lost than you thought."

"Maybe." Draco sighed and handed Hermione the map. "Sorry for the delay. I'm ready if you are."

Hermione cleared the map and threw the cloak over their heads once again. They carefully made their way from their empty classroom on the third floor to the dungeon. Once they were standing in front of the empty wall that guarded the Slytherin common room, Draco smiled at Hermione and whispered the password. He then ducked out from under the cloak and walked purposefully toward his dorm room.

Since it was so late after curfew, the common room was mostly empty, save for a few older Slytherins, finishing a few assignments. Once hidden behind his bed sheets, Draco let himself be excited about finishing one part of the grueling process of becoming an animagus. He then did his meditations, set an alarm on his wand and fell quickly to sleep.


	16. Chapter 16

Weeks passed as Draco and Hermione waited for the seasons to change and the weather to warm up enough to have a thunderstorm. Draco was happy that Harry had stopped ignoring Hermione, with the return of his dumb broom, but was pretty furious at the way Ron was treating Hermione because of his dumb rat. Hermione was often upset at their meetings, simmering in anger at Ron's mean words, or weeping when thinking about the loss of his friendship.

Draco could see that the time turner was beginning to wear on Hermione. The pressure of attending so many extra classes, as well as doing all of the homework for said extra classes was catching up with her.

They argued again about Sirius Black when he broke into the Gryffindor dormitory. Hermione, stressed and exhausted, had cried about what might have happened to Ron, while Draco maintained that Sirius had to be a good guy. Quickly realizing that their argument had been derailed by Hermione's sleep-deprived state of mind, Draco stopped defending his mother's cousin and tried to just agree with whatever Hermione said.

One evening in March, Hermione fell asleep during one of their meetings. When she woke up, hours later, Draco tried to talk to her calmly about her workload and all the stress she was under, but she fled from the room, worried that she had missed an entire evening of studying.

After the Hogsmeade incident with Harry, Draco and Hermione got into another argument, one where he wasn't even sure why they were arguing in the first place. Hermione was angry that Harry had been so reckless in Hogsmeade and that he had lost the map. She had also been incredibly angry about Buckbeak, which Draco couldn't blame her for. It was his fault, after all, that Lucius was trying to get the poor creature killed. After listening to Hermione rant and rave for nearly a half hour, Draco tried to talk to her about her workload and her stress, once again. He was stunned when she got even angrier with his change of topic and watched her storm off in a huff, clearly mad at him for his role in the whole Buckbeak situation and for his opinion about her schoolwork.

Draco could not believe it when Hermione slapped him the next time she saw him. True, he was being evil Draco and saying rude things about Hagrid, but he couldn't contain his look of shock when her hand met his face. He stumbled backward, clearly unsure of what was happening. He was used to getting hurt by his father but he couldn't imagine Hermione ever doing anything similar. When she took out her wand, he fled, like the coward he knew he was.

The slap occurred on a Thursday and Draco had to debate whether or not to show up at their meeting spot on Friday. He had heard the rumours of Hermione missing Charms and also abandoning Divination. He knew she wasn't in her right state of mind and was worried about her. However, for the first time since they started meeting in secret, he also wanted to avoid her. The slap was too reminiscent of his home life. All day Friday, Draco wavered in his decision to meet with Hermione or stand her up. Finally, he decided that he had called her a mudblood last year and she had still shown up to their meetings, so he would meet her no matter what.

After supper, Draco headed to their empty classroom. Once inside, he double checked that no one had tampered with their animagus potion. Satisfied, he sat down with a sixth-year potions book to wait for Hermione. After a while, he glanced up at the clock. She was late. Taking a deep breath, Draco tried to keep reading but found himself checking the time on the clock every minute or two. When curfew was only a few minutes away, Draco sighed, packed up his book and headed down to his dorm.

Once safely behind his bedsheets, Draco allowed himself to wallow. He knew that Hermione was stressed. If the rumours about her disastrous Thursday were true, he also knew that she might have gone a little off the rails. However, his mind also jumped to the conclusion that maybe she finally believed his act more than the real Draco in the classroom. Perhaps the slap was very much real and friendship ending. Not meeting him in their empty classroom certainly lead Draco to believe that idea more and more. The alarm announcing sunset went off and he quickly silenced his wand. Performing the animagus incantation, Draco then fell back against his pillow. He laid awake for most of the night, hoping that he was wrong about Hermione and that she had not just ended their friendship.

Draco sullenly stalked around the castle for the rest of the weekend. Since it was now Easter break, the crowds of students had thinned and he didn't have to become evil Draco too many times. He avoided mealtimes, too anxious to see Hermione. Sunday afternoon Draco found himself pacing the seventh-floor hallway. The third time he passed the tapestry, he finally noticed the door he had told Hermione about.

Eager to see the classroom again, Draco opened the door to find an even longer hallway. Confused, he glanced behind him, certain that he was in the same place as before. Closing the door behind him, he walked down the new hallway. There were no doors off of this hallway, just a long expanse, perfect for pacing. At the end of the hallway, Draco paused and turned back toward the door. As he walked, he shook his head, thinking that he must be going crazy. Once he was out in the seventh-floor corridor again, he glanced at the tapestry one more time and at the door that no longer contained the Ancient Runes replica classroom.

Furrowing his brow, he continued walking. Deciding there was no reason to avoid the third floor, Draco stalked by his and Hermione's classroom. Before he could continue his sullen tour of the school, Draco was stopped by the sounds of sobbing coming from the classroom. Turning on the spot, Draco closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Although he was slightly scared of what he might find behind the door, nevertheless Draco wanted to stop Hermione from crying, no matter what she thought of him or their friendship.

Slowly pushing the door open, he glanced inside to see Hermione sitting on the ground, crying into her hands. Draco stepped inside the classroom, closed the door and joined her on the ground. Hesitantly, he reached one hand out and laid it on top of her knee.

Startled, Hermione dropped her hands. She stared at Draco for a quick beat and then threw her arms around him, giving him a giant hug. Draco carefully moved his hands around her and sighed when she started crying harder onto his shoulder. He sat, holding her against him as she sobbed for several minutes. When her crying turned to small hiccups, he rubbed her back a bit and waited.

Hermione moved back, wiping at her eyes. "I got snot on you." Draco couldn't help but chuckle. Hermione dipped her head and looked at the floor for a moment, before grabbing Draco's hands and looking into his eyes. "I am so sorry. I'm sorry." She paused and swallowed hard. "I hurt you. I did it for no reason and I'm just as bad as your father. Worse, probably, because you trusted me. I'm sorry." Draco opened his mouth, but Hermione cut him off, "Wait, let me finish." Another tear rolled down her cheek as she continued, "I'm sorry. I lost my mind on Thursday. I didn't mean to slap you. I shouldn't have done it at all, evil Draco wasn't that bad at that moment. I also slept through Charms and quit Divination. Friday I was a mess, I was on autopilot throughout my classes and as soon as I got to my dormitory on Friday I passed out. Luckily, my alarm on my wand let me continue to say the incantations at the right time, but immediately afterward, I would fall back asleep. I got out of bed today. I'm so sorry for missing our meeting on Friday night. I've missed you at meal times, you must have thought I hated you. You must hate me. I'm so, so sorry, Draco."

With that, she collapsed back onto his shoulder, sobbing resuming. Draco lowered his head to rest on hers. After a few minutes, he hesitantly started rubbing her back again. "Hey, it's okay." Draco paused at Hermione's tear-filled scoff. "No, it really is." He kept his head against her, prolonging their hug. His mother tried, but Draco really wasn't used to hugs and comfort. Narcissa was only able to show affection for Draco when Lucius wasn't around. Taking comfort in Hermione's hug and closeness, Draco continued, "I don't think you're as bad as my father. I didn't like the slap, please don't do it again." Draco smothered a half laugh in Hermione's hair when she sobbed at that statement. "I know you care about me. I know that you have been stressed for quite some time. I've tried talking to you about it."

Hermione pulled away and Draco reluctantly let her go. She wiped at her eyes again and gave Draco a very small smile. Draco let his arms fall against his sides, a small, unfamiliar part of him wishing she was still in them. He continued, "I don't blame you for slapping me. Evil Draco is a lot to handle, and I've said some terrible things over the past three years. A slap is really the least you could do to that awful guy. I also don't blame you for needing to sleep. You really should start taking better care of yourself, which is something we've argued about lately."

"You're right." Hermione nodded. "Thank you for looking out for me. And I'm sorry again. I never wanted to hurt you. This thing has been messing me up." Sighing, Hermione took the time turner out from under her jumper and studied it. Draco hesitated and Hermione glanced at him, eyebrows raised.

"I think that you should give up the time turner." At Hermione's silence, Draco sighed and continued trying to convince her. "I know that this year has been crazy and we have been trying to become animagus. I agree that the time turner has been messing you up. I think you need to get back to a regular schedule. And get more sleep."

"You're right," Hermione said softly. "I'm going to have to drop another class if I give it up. I still have too many, even without Divination."

"I suggest Muggle Studies." Draco smiled at Hermione, who looked scandalized. "What? You already know everything there is to know about that subject anyway. Is there any reason to take it?"

Slightly put out, Hermione agreed. "Fine. Should I do it right away, or should I wait until the end of the year?"

Draco shrugged. "Up to you. I would like to continue to use the time loop to meet up with you, but I'm more concerned about your health."

Pursing her lips, Hermione thought it over. "I want to write the exam for Muggle Studies. Then I'll drop the class and give up the timer."

"Until the end of the year, then." Draco smiled at Hermione and sighed. "I think that you should promise to use the time turner to get more sleep until you give it up. Go to your classes, like usual, but no staying up late studying, only to use the time turner to get more work done. Sleep more, please. My face would appreciate it." Hermione reluctantly agreed and Draco smiled wider. "I like this better than arguing with you over your health. Or Sirius Black." Hermione laughed and agreed once again. They continued to talk for a while until Hermione announced that it was time to use the time turner and catch up on more sleep.

When they parted, Draco realized it was still Sunday afternoon. Lightened after his conversation with Hermione, and since he didn't have massive amounts of sleep to catch up on, he decided to use the time to practice some quidditch skills. The game against Gryffindor was right after the Easter break, after all. And with Harry's dumb broom, he would need all the practice he could get.


	17. Chapter 17

After Easter break, it seemed like all of their professors were in a mad dash toward the end of the year. Homework was handed out non stop and even with Hermione using the time turner to get extra sleep, Draco could tell she was still stressed. She confided that Ron had taken over Buckbeak's case and Draco again felt guilty about the poor animal and his role in the whole drama.

Draco tried to outfly his guilt, but even quidditch couldn't help. He lost again against Harry, even though he pulled some evil Draco moves during the match. The only upside was that his father didn't come to the match. Draco hadn't seen him before the match and tried his best to not look for him after another frustrating defeat. If Lucius was to be angry with him again over his lack of quidditch skill, Draco didn't want to be waiting for the fallout.

Soon after quidditch, it was time for exams. Draco did well in all of his exams, although the boggart that was Lucius standing over a prone, deathly pale, Hermione did cause him to pause for longer than necessary. It meant that Lupin had to dock points, but overall, Draco felt that he had done well.

At the end of exam week, Draco was incredibly relieved. He looked forward to his meeting with Hermione and relaxing for the last couple days of the term. At supper, most of the students were celebrating, grabbing food and taking it with them to enjoy the summer weather. Draco didn't see Hermione and wondered if he would be able to see her tonight. He knew that Buckbeak's trial was scheduled for today. Hermione told him depending on how the trial went, she would either be able to meet him or be off consoling Hagrid. Draco had agreed to postpone meeting Hermione until the next day.

Saturday was a Hogsmeade trip and Draco wandered down with Crabbe and Goyle, determined to kill time until he could see Hermione tonight. Throughout the day he listened to Crabbe and Goyle complain about the heat. Each time, Draco would glance at the sky, hoping that this sudden heat wave would bring about a lightning storm. If they didn't have a lightning storm before the end of term, he and Hermione would have to try to become animagus at home. Draco had more than enough space to manage a full transformation at the manor, but Hermione was worried about where she would go. They would also have to transport their extremely fragile potion, which didn't seem like a good idea. It would be easier on them both if the sweltering heat led to a lightning storm tonight.

While wandering around Hogsmeade, Draco managed to hear bits and pieces of a story involving Harry and Sirius Black. Stopping Pansy on the street, he questioned her further to hear all the gory details that she knew. Pansy filled him in on Lupin being a werewolf, on Buckbeak escaping and a dementor trying to kiss Harry. Draco let himself be evil Draco about the news about Lupin, but deep down he was upset. Lupin had been a great teacher all year, they had learned a lot about Defense, a subject that Draco wanted to study further. Now, Lupin would be gone by the end of the year and they would have another teacher who, chances were, would be awful.

It took all of Draco's patience to last the full day down in Hogsmeade. Back at the castle, he caught Hermione's eye when he stood up early from the table. Leaving the hall, he headed straight for their empty classroom.

Inside the classroom, Draco checked their potions, as was his habit as soon as he entered the room. Still untampered with. Hopefully, their potion could be tested soon. As Hermione entered the room behind him, he gave her a smile and headed to the window. "The ceiling in the Great Hall was starting to get cloudy right when I left," Hermione announced.

Draco hummed and looked out the window. "Looks like you're right. What do you think? Regular rain, or a lightning storm?"

"My fingers are crossed for a storm." Hermione smiled and sat down in her usual spot. "Want to hear all about last night?"

"Of course." Draco left the window to join Hermione to hear another amazing tale about Harry's exploits. "Yes! One good family member!" He shouted when Hermione told him the truth about Sirius.

Laughing, Hermione rolled her eyes. "Yes, yes, you were right. He's not that bad after all."

She continued to fill Draco in on the events of the previous night. When they got Harry's Patronus, Draco was impressed. "Wow, I knew that he could do it, based on that one quidditch game, but to get that many dementors to leave them alone? That's impressive."

"I know. We should work on that spell." Hermione sighed. She was both frustrated and proud that Harry had excelled at such difficult magic. She continued to tell the story, of rescuing Sirius from the tower and hearing Snape go mental over the disappearance. Near the end of her story, Hermione jumped when they heard thunder outside. "Merlin!"

Draco rushed to their potions and removed all of the charms that were safeguarding them. Now was the time to see if their potion had worked. If it had turned blood red, they had been successful and could become Animagi.

Taking a deep breath, Draco met Hermione's eyes. She reassured him with one nod and watched as he opened the container to reveal two potions that were blood red. Hermione's mouth dropped open as they both stared at what looked like a correct animagus potion. "I can't believe we did it," whispered Draco. "Now what?"

"Now we try it out." Hermione paused. "If we are in any way, shape or form, wrong about the process, we could get stuck permanently as an animal. Or halfway into an animal."

Draco shook his head. "I know we did everything correctly. I've been saying the incantation, and I know you still said it even over your comatose weekend at the beginning of Easter break. We are ready for this."

"I wonder what we'll be?" Hermione grabbed her vial from Draco and lifted it high. "Should we transform in the same classroom? What if I'm an elephant and you're a mouse?" At Draco's confused look, she waved him off. "Muggle fable. What if I'm something that wants to eat whatever you turn into?"

Thinking for a second, Draco glanced outside. "We have to decide quickly. We have to transform before this storm is over." Looking back at Hermione, he saw panic in her eyes. "We can do this. I'll go to the next classroom over. Once I'm back to normal, I'll come back here." Draco started for the door. "Take the potion as soon as I leave!"

With that, Draco opened the door, glanced quickly around to confirm no one was near and closed the door behind him. He quickly walked to the next classroom, closed the door and downed his potion. Immediately, Draco doubled over. He could feel his heart racing, so fast it was almost like he had two. His body seemed to be being licked by flames. The pain was so intense, he felt like he was burning up. Finally, an image of a white dove came to his mind. All of a sudden, the pain stopped.

Draco looked around and noticed he was at a different height now. He turned his neck and stretched his arms and was more than a little surprised when he saw he was actually stretching his wings. Draco let out an exclamation, which sounded like a coo. Excited about the possibility of flight as an Animagus, Draco tested his wings out. For a moment, he hovered in the air and then gracefully landed again.

Now it was time to test out the transformation back into a human. Remembering the notes from the book, Draco pictured his human body, with the intent to transform back. A second later, Draco stood on his two feet, where the dove had been.

Draco allowed himself a mini celebration, filled with silent cheers and a quick fist pump. He wanted to go back and see what Hermione had transformed into, but first, he wanted to double check that the dove was his form, that he could transform whenever he wanted now.

Holding the shape of himself as a dove in his mind, Draco willed himself to transform and found himself back as a dove. Deciding that it would never get old, he quickly changed back and raced back to Hermione in their usual classroom.

He quickly opened the door and shut it again, turning to meet Hermione's eyes. "Did it work for you, too?" Draco asked, breathlessly.

Hermione beamed at him and then transformed. Where she was standing was a little fox, with a bushy tail, reminiscent of Hermione's bushy hair. Draco grinned at the little fox, who danced on the spot for a moment, then turned back into his best friend. "It worked!" Hermione gushed. "We did it! Show me yours!" Draco obeyed and transformed immediately. Hermione gasped when she saw the dove in Draco's place. "Wow, Draco. You're gorgeous."

Draco decided to fly to Hermione, using his new wings would take some practice, but he managed to fly toward Hermione and land on her shoulder. Cooing for a moment, he then took off so that he could transform back into a human.

When Draco was back to human, Hermione laughed and rushed toward him. Enveloping him in a hug, she squeezed him tight. "I'm so excited and proud of us! We're Animagi! Before our fourth year!"

"I can't believe it either. I love your fox form. You will blend in with any countryside foxes. It's a great disguise."

"Thank you! Your dove isn't as inconspicuous, but I don't think wizards pay attention to anything other than owls. Plus, you can fly!" Hermione backed away from Draco, to smile up at him. "And, if I didn't know you were a good guy, your form definitely gives you away. Doves are so symbolic. Your form basically tells everyone you're peaceful, loving and very loyal."

Draco laughed. "I know that's what doves symbolize, but I'm not a dove because I'm peaceful, it's just a coincidence."

"Please. How many times have people told me I'm clever? I had a list in my room of what I could be. Fox was on it."

Worried, Draco asked, "You're not disappointed?"

Hermione's eyebrows raised, "Are you insane? Of course not! I'm an Animagus!"

"Yes. You are." Draco paused and took a deep breath, as the realization of what they had accomplished hit him. "We both are."

Hermione laughed once more and threw her arms around Draco. "I'm so proud of us!" Draco's breath caught in his throat, as he looked down at his bushy-haired best friend, hugging him close. It took a few seconds, but Draco's arms also raised and hugged Hermione just as tightly as she was holding him. He stood there, his arms squeezing her tight, and felt that this moment might just be able to be used to fuel a Patronus.


	18. Chapter 18

Sitting at the Leaving Feast, a few days later, Draco sneered as he looked around. The hall was, of course, covered in red and gold. While Draco honestly had nothing against the colours, he still felt like they represented an opportunity he never had a chance to take. Therefore, his evil Draco sneer was fuelled by the subtle reminder that he wasn't a noble Gryffindor like he wanted to be.

Tonight would be the last meeting he and Hermione would be able to have until September. Draco wished that they could find a way to get together during the summer, the months seemed to drag on without her. Eager to leave, he caught Hermione's eye as he stood, close to the end of the feast. His housemates were busy finishing their dessert and seemed none the wiser. As he took his leave, he saw Hermione lecturing Ron about something. Smirking, he walked purposefully away and headed toward their classroom.

When Hermione joined him ten minutes later, she beamed at him. "I gave up my time turner today."

"Congratulations!" Draco laughed. "Although you were able to use it to save my cousin, I'm relieved that you won't be stressing yourself out anymore."

Hermione rolled her eyes and switched the topic to her summer plans. Draco was glad to know what her plans were but he was also cognizant that his plans would not be anywhere near as joyful. Still listening, he let his thoughts wander, so as to keep them off his father and what inevitably waited for him at home. Suddenly, his eyes widened.

"Of course, my mom thinks that -" Hermione paused and raised her eyebrows at Draco. "What's wrong?"

"I just remembered something." Draco shook his head and focused on Hermione. "Remember when you hit me, earlier this year?"

Shocked, Hermione dropped her head. "Yes, I do."

"No, no, sorry. Not what I meant." Draco rubbed his hand on her arm, but continued on, "I was wandering the halls that weekend and I came across that one room we were talking about, on Harry's map."

"What room?"

Draco sighed. "You remember? I said there was a room in a certain hallway and you said it was a door pretending to be a room?" A look of recognition passed across Hermione's face and Draco continued to tell her his story. As he described the hallway he had found beyond the door, Hermione bit her lip, deep in thought.

"Hmm." Hermione murmured, once Draco had wrapped up his story. "The first time, you said it was a replica Ancient Runes classroom?" Draco nodded. Hermione fell silent and Draco leaned back against the wall, not wanting to rush Hermione's thought process. After a few minutes, she asked, "Was the door there the first time you paced down the hallway?"

"I'm not sure. I only noticed it after I had paced up and down the hallway a few times, I'm sure. I don't know if it was there before or not."

Hermione thought for a few more seconds and then raised an eyebrow. "We should try it out."

Raising an answering eyebrow back at Hermione, Draco asked, "tonight?"

"No." Hermione sighed. "Probably when we get back in September. It's too close to curfew if we were to try it now. Plus, if we're wandering around together, we should probably be borrowing the cloak."

"And the map?" Draco asked, hopefully.

"Yes, sure." Hermione laughed. "I'll sneak it away from Harry too."

After talking for a few more minutes, Draco and Hermione decided to say goodbye for the summer. Walking back to his dorm, Draco met up with Crabbe and Goyle, who seemed to only now be leaving the feast. Poking fun at them and their love of desserts, Draco headed down to the dorms, minions in tow. Once there, he noticed that Theo kept an eye on the trio as they walked in.

Sitting down beside Theo, Draco nodded in his direction. Theo raised one eyebrow, "Enjoyed dessert?"

Draco smirked. "They certainly did. It's how long past the feast, and they only just left."

"It is quite late. If you weren't also scarfing down dessert, what were you up to at this late hour?"

Draco paused at the overt question. It was not like a cunning Slytherin to be so open in his questioning. Knowing he couldn't give a great explanation, Draco shrugged. "I like to walk around the castle after supper. I've always liked to. Especially when we're leaving tomorrow."

Theo nodded once more. "Your walks always happen on the same days."

Draco shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant, even though all he wished to do was cut and run. Theo watched Draco for a moment and then let his questions cease. After a while, both he and Draco were drawn into the end of term discussion about summer plans and events. When Draco felt like the conversation was winding down, he excused himself to double check all of his belongings were packed.

Once in his empty dorm, Draco sighed. He and Hermione had been lucky for three years. No one had ever discovered them. However, Theo's questioning had thrown Draco for a loop and he hoped that Theo had not witnessed anything. Getting ready for bed, Draco replayed Theo's actions and decided that, while Theo was suspicious, he didn't actually know anything. If he did, he would be using that knowledge to his advantage. Draco and Hermione had been using the time turner all year long, so the time loop should mean that they were safe from Theo. But, even with the time loop, walking to and from their classroom did mean that Draco was missing often and Theo had evidently noticed. As his dorm mates slowly entered the room, Draco maintained his earlier casualness. When Theo walked in, Draco met his eye and Theo nodded once again.

Uneasy, Draco climbed into bed and pulled the sheets around himself. Silencing the sheets, he took a deep breath and tried to settle his uneasy stomach. Theo finding out about Hermione would be one of the worst things imaginable. Not only would the entire school find out, but his father would as well.

Next year, he and Hermione would have to be more careful.


	19. Chapter 19

The next morning, Draco was determined to act his evil persona out, around whoever he could. All morning, he was rude to anyone he met, especially a few hapless Hufflepuffs, who had gotten in his way. On the train, he let Pansy coo at him and lean against his shoulder. He tried to look as bored as he could. Draco caught several of Theo's glances, which seemed to come less and less frequently as time wore on.

Hoping that this act of evil Draco was enough to shred any suspicions that Theo might have, Draco turned his mind to other things, namely what waited for him at home this summer.

The start to last summer had been wonderful, with the news that his father would be away and that his mother had decided to leave, eventually. Although Draco wished that he and his mother could escape this summer, he was truly happy thinking that this could be the last awful holiday with his father.

Hopes high, Draco stood with the rest of his group when the train arrived in London. Together, they dragged their trunks off the train, calling out to one another. Pansy, at the last moment, gave him a hug. While squeezing herself against him, she whispered in his ear, "hope to see you this summer, Draco."

Draco merely raised one eyebrow slowly, even though what he wanted to do was pry himself out of her grip and stalk away. Pansy simpered up at him for a moment, until Draco cleared his throat and looked up, toward the groups of parents waiting. Spotting his father, he decided he'd rather see Lucius than stand with Pansy for one more minute. With a terse goodbye, he grabbed his trunk and dragged it towards Lucius.

Standing in front of his father, Draco chanced a look toward him. Lucius looked amused. Draco who was heartened a little by the surprising look on his father's face, allowed a small smirk to cross his own face. Lucius chuckled and waved his wand at Draco's trunk. "That's the Parkinson girl, isn't it?"

Draco nodded and followed along as Lucius headed straight for the public floo at the other end of the station. Joining the line of parents recently reunited with their offspring, Lucius mused, "I suppose your choice could have been worse. At least she's from a decent family. But, really, Draco? Parkinson is an idiot and I doubt his daughter is much better."

The line moved along and Draco didn't know what he should be doing with his body. Should he be agreeing with his father? Nodding along? Keeping a stoic face so that Lucius continued to think that he liked Pansy? Draco dragged his eyes over to his father, who still looked amused.

Once they reached the front of the line, Lucius motioned for Draco to go first. Holding his trunk in one hand, Draco threw the floo powder Lucius had given him and yelled for Malfoy Manor. Arriving in the fireplace, he quickly dragged his trunk out of Lucius' path and looked around the room. Narcissa stood and Draco walked toward her for a welcome home hug. Lucius arrived during their reunion and chuckled again. "In another woman's arms, already, Draco?"

Narcissa raised her eyebrows and glanced down at Draco. Draco shrugged but Lucius elaborated, "Miss Parkinson found it hard to say goodbye to our son."

Nodding her head, Narcissa replied, "Of course, my son is a wonderful boy. I would imagine she would find it hard to be separated."

His good mood suddenly vanished, Lucius narrowed his eyes. "Our son."

Draco held his breath as Narcissa inclined her head and softly repeated, "our son." Both Narcissa and Draco waited as Lucius paused for a moment. Unsure of what would come next, Draco allowed one foot to slowly start to inch backward. Narcissa did not move an inch. With one more glare toward his wife, Lucius slowly turned away, heading toward his study.

Left in the uncomfortable silence, Draco cleared his throat. "I should put my trunk away."

Nodding, Narcissa took a deep breath and called for a house elf. Once the trunk vanished away with the house elf, they both started walking toward Draco's room. Along the way, Draco told his mother things of note since the last time he had written.

Once at Draco's room, Narcissa followed him in and shut the door. "I'll leave you to unpack in a minute. I just wanted you to know that your father has business most of the summer. He's been in Eastern Europe a lot lately and needs to go back again soon. But, he plans to be back for the Quidditch World Cup and is planning on taking us to it. We should be able to continue your lessons without interruption."

With a big smile, Draco thanked his mother and turned to start unpacking his trunk.

The next morning saw Lucius leaving already. Narcissa and Draco both lined up by the floo before he left, in preparation to say goodbye. When Lucius swept into the room he nodded, seeing his family waiting on him. Finding no faults in their attire or actions, Lucius turned to leave with a terse goodbye. Draco nodded and Narcissa tilted her head, expecting Lucius to kiss her check. Doing so, Lucius then walked purposefully toward the fireplace and spun away in the floo.

Narcissa allowed her body to melt from its rigid posture. Draco did the same. "Come." Narcissa softly spoke, as she turned to leave the room. Draco trailed behind her, eager to see what she had planned. Narcissa led the way to the kitchen, where she had instructed the elves to make a breakfast feast. Eyebrows raised, Draco began filling his plate. Narcissa followed suit and together they sat down for breakfast, eating in companionable silence.

Draco reflected as he chewed, that if his father had stayed, breakfast would also have taken place in silence, but instead of being the silence brought on by good food and warm company, it would be the silence of fear.

As they ate, Narcissa gazed at her son, taking in his handsome features, so similar to his father's, and how much he had grown over the past year.

Once they were both done, Narcissa grabbed another plate and filled it food once again. At Draco's puzzled look, she smiled and shook her head, indicating he shouldn't question her at the moment. With the plate full of food, Narcissa swept out of the kitchen, Draco once again trailing behind her. She walked purposefully toward the door and then out onto the back lawn. Veering toward the greenhouse and the gardener's quarters, Narcissa paused and looked back at Draco. "I trust you remember what we spoke of last summer?"

Confused, Draco tilted his head. He did not know what, in particular, his mother was reminding him. However, he was certain that he had not forgotten a second of anything his mother had taught him last summer, whether it be muggle training or occlumency. Still silent, Draco nodded his head.

Narcissa smiled and gestured for Draco to come closer with her free hand. Still carrying the loaded plate, she swung her arm around her son's shoulders, now almost the same height as her. Together, they walked into the gardener's quarters, a small house on the grounds that had been unoccupied as long as Draco remembered. Inside, Draco could see that his mother had redecorated since he had last been in the house.

Standing in the kitchen, having come in through the kitchen door, Draco quickly stepped in front of his mother as his hand flew to his wand when he saw movement out of the corner of his eye.

"Narcissa. Shit." Draco's eyes widened momentarily, but his wand never wavered from the man who sauntered into full view. Long black hair, grey eyes and far too many tattoos to fit into society. Sirius Black stared at Draco's wand for a second and then chuckled. "Just like the last time we met, boy."

Draco glanced at his mother, quickly, confused and then back at his cousin. Narcissa sighed, "Draco, lower your wand. You do remember what we spoke of last summer?"

Memories of his mother talking about her favourite cousin and how they, thick as thieves, had snuck around muggle London came swimming to the forefront of Draco's mind. He remembered Narcissa telling him she didn't believe, for a second, that honorable, loyal, Sirius Black, was a murderer. Slowly, Draco lowered his wand.

"Such a brave and daring boy, Narcissa." Sirius chuckled. "So quick to defend his mother."

Narcissa smiled at her cousin and stepped around her son. She set the plate of food on the counter and Sirius immediately started eating. With a shake of her head, Narcissa sat down on a chair at the small table. She looked between Sirius, wolfing down the breakfast she had brought, and her son, still wary, and keeping an eye on Sirius. Narcissa smiled again, extremely proud of the man Draco was becoming. Protective, kind, brave, intelligent. She was certain that he, like Sirius before him, had attempted the animagus potion. Like Sirius, she was sure he had succeeded. Narcissa knew that Draco was keeping secrets from her but she had no desire to learn what Draco had clearly deemed so important his mother could never know. However, she could be as proud as possible of her beloved son.

Draco watched his cousin eat his breakfast like a starving man and thought back to his first words. When was the last time he pulled his wand on Sirius? He glanced at his mother, yet again, who looked quite content, sitting at the kitchen table. Draco decided to join her, shifting his eyes back to Sirius as he did.

Feeling two sets of eyes on him, Sirius straightened and turned, still chewing the bacon in his mouth. Swallowing, he looked Draco over. "You look too much like your awful dad."

Draco shrugged. "I may look like him, but I will never be him."

Sirius barked out a laugh. He caught the look of pride on Narcissa's face at Draco's words. "Touché. I suppose I also look a great deal like my late father." Sirius rolled his shoulders as the uneasy feeling of the Black legacy settled on him. "I, too, am nothing like my father."

Draco allowed a small smile to pass over his face, before turning to Narcissa. "How long have you been hiding Sirius Black here?" He knew, thanks to Hermione, that it hadn't been too long, however, he was interested to know the full story.

"Well, it hasn't been for long. Sirius turned up a few days ago. I recognized him straight away and told him to lay low. Once your father was away from the manor, I told him to stay in here. Lucius never comes in here."

"You recognized him?" Draco questioned.

"Sure." Sirius laughed. "I didn't stroll in like I am now." With that, Sirius took a step away from the counter and then a huge black dog sat in his place. After a moment, Sirius stood on two human feet again and reached for more food off the plate that Narcissa had brought.

"Are you still hungry? I could get the elves to bring more food?" At Sirius' nod, Narcissa called a house elf and instructed him to bring the leftover breakfast food. The elf popped away and popped back, laden with trays.

As Sirius filled his plate again, Draco put two and two together. He knew that Sirius was an animagus, thanks to Hermione. She had even somewhat described his form, but Draco still hadn't properly imagined the correct form. However, now that he had seen his cousin transform, Draco knew he had seen that particular dog before. "You visited here after you escaped. Before school started."

Sirius nodded, mouth full of food. "You were my second stop. Had to see Harry, make sure he was alright." Sirius scowled. "Those muggles are awful, but he's tough, like his godfather. Afterward, I wanted to see Narcissa. I met you instead."

Thinking back, Draco wondered if he had said anything incriminating to the dog that turned out to be Sirius. He had confessed that he wasn't a proper Slytherin and that he had wanted to be in a different house. He had also confessed to having a muggleborn as a best friend. However, Draco hadn't said Hermione's name. He was pretty sure he hadn't mentioned if his muggleborn friend was a boy or a girl. Surely nothing would link him to Hermione Granger, of all people.

"I remember," Draco said, after his momentary pause. "I fed you a chicken."

"And confessed that you aren't as terrible as you let on." Draco shrugged at his words, but Sirius pressed on. "I was hiding at Hogwarts all year, Draco. I'm fully aware of the act that you are putting on at school."

Draco widened his eyes and glanced at his mother. He had mentioned last summer that he acted differently at school, but he didn't want her to know how awful he truly was at Hogwarts. "It's fine, dear." Narcissa patted her son's hand. "I know that you pretend to be a lot more like your father out in public. It's a good strategy."

"Yeah, until you've got good guys aiming at you."

At Sirius' words, Narcissa stood. "I'm not having this argument with you, again, Sirius!"

"Why not?" Sirius crossed his arms and glared at Narcissa.

"Because we have the same argument every time! It's the same one we've had ever since you learned that father wanted me to marry Lucius in the first place!"

"Yeah. Because I didn't want you marrying some psychopath!"

Draco, still seated, glanced between Sirius and Narcissa, both showcasing some of their Black tempers. Narcissa growled and Draco's eyebrows shot up. He had never heard his mother make that sound before.

"Sirius Black. You know what my father did to Andromeda when she refused to marry the man she was supposed to!"

"I know. And after she left your house, she got married to the man of her dreams and lived happily ever after!"

"You don't know that! You've been in Azkaban forever!"

"Don't throw Azkaban in my face! I shouldn't have been there. That dirty, rotten -"

"I had to marry Lucius!" Narcissa cut Sirius off.

"No, you didn't," Sirius stated, in a low, menacing voice. Draco, concerned for his mother started to rise, but one look from the Black cousins had him sitting back down again. Sirius continued. "You know that you had other options. To leave, to marry someone else. You could have been safe, 'Cissa. You could -"

"I was scared to disobey father and even more scared to disobey Lucius!" Narcissa shouted, cutting Sirius off again. "And then I was scared for so long that he would hurt our only son. But look at him!" She gestured toward Draco. "Look at what he's become! He's almost a man and he's the best man I could possibly have raised. He's nothing like his father. I wouldn't have him if I hadn't been scared to disobey."

Draco, who had been watching this screaming match avidly, felt his mouth open slightly in shock. His mother was looking at him, pride blazing in her eyes and Sirius shook his head. "Narcissa," he said gently, as she turned to look back at him, "I know you love Draco, but I also know that the last 17 years have been hell for you, Draco or not. And, I know you are on the right side of things, as is Draco. But there might be a time when all the good guys are aiming their wands at you because they don't know who you truly are. Surely you can let the right people know what position you've been in these past years."

Narcissa shook her head, not ready to admit how awful the years since she had married Lucius had been. Draco cleared his throat and both Narcissa and Sirius turned toward Draco, identical grey eyes questioning. "I feel like this argument might never end." Draco gestured toward Sirius. "You're clearly right, mother should have never married the psychopath that is my father. But," gesturing to Narcissa, "I am glad that I am alive." After a brief pause, Draco continued. "How about instead of arguing about the past, we focus on the present. Are you staying in the gardener's quarters from here on out?" Draco raised an eyebrow at his cousin. "Or, can we leave father earlier than you planned, mother, if Sirius was to help as well?" Looking at Narcissa, Draco smiled, "I would love it if we were both safe this summer, instead of next."

"You're planning on leaving him?" Sirius narrowed his eyes at Narcissa. "Why?"

"Are you serious?" Narcissa threw her hands up, "You were just yelling at me for marrying him in the first place! Now that I have a plan to get out, you're mad at that too?"

"Sorry." Looking abashed, Sirius hung his head. "I'm just shocked that you want to leave. Why now and not earlier?"

Narcissa sighed and sat down again, motioning for Sirius to do the same. "I realized what I was doing to Draco. I need to get him away before Lucius does something truly awful." Narcissa paused, as Sirius stared at her, waiting. "Lucius gave away something of his master's last year. I realized that, although Lucius is a truly awful man, he is still in service to a more evil man. And I don't want Draco anywhere near that. I need to get him away before Draco is also tied to that sinking ship. But, I wanted to teach him about muggle London. And steal as much money and jewelry away from Lucius as I could. I also wanted to make sure Draco mastered occlumency."

Sirius thought over her words for a minute, then turned to Draco. Raising a wand that Draco was unaware Sirius had, Sirius whispered, "Legilimens!" Before he knew what was even happening, Draco could feel Sirius inside his mind. Even though he wasn't prepared, Draco used his natural talent to hide anything he didn't want Sirius to see. Hermione was already locked behind a vault that not even his mother had accessed. He pushed the memories of his father being cruel to his mother to the back of his mind and brought up memories of Quidditch and studying and laughing with Crabbe and Goyle. He let Sirius wander through the most mundane memories before he felt the intrusion leave.

Draco looked at Sirius, who was studying him closely and then at his mother. Once again, her eyes were shining with pride. "How did he do?" She asked.

"Amazing," Sirius responded. "I didn't see anything he didn't want me to. Lots of flying and History of Magic notes. Nothing about what I actually wanted to see. Which is impressive." Trailing off, Sirius considered Draco. "When did you start teaching him?"

"Last summer."

Eyebrows raised, Sirius looked at Narcissa. "You can't be serious. He's that good already?"

"He's a natural."

"I'm right here," Draco said, which caused Sirius to laugh again.

"I like him, Narcissa," Sirius admitted. "Although, I started liking him last summer after he fed a poor, starving animal. You're right. He's nothing like his father." With that, Sirius turned fully toward Draco. "Your mother has allowed me to stay in the gardeners quarters, for the time being. I do not think that I will stay. The ministry is still looking for me and they might even decide to look here. After all, they think that Lucius and I share the same master. And they would be right to remember how close Narcissa and I once were. I would assume they will be here checking within a week or so."

Narcissa nodded. "I'm sure you're right. But, until then, I insist you stay and try and eat a little more than you're used to. You're skin and bones."

Draco agreed with his mother's assessment. "Mother, are you still certain about our timeline? Couldn't we leave this summer? We could even leave with Sirius. He's clearly good at not being found."

Sirius barked out another laugh. "That's only because of my disguise. No one knows that I'm an animagus. If I didn't have that talent, I'd still be in Azkaban."

Narcissa glanced at Draco, who was keeping his face completely neutral. Even though she was sure that Draco was also an animagus, she would not call attention to it, if he didn't want it to be known. After a moment, she whispered. "Draco, we will escape next summer. I know my plan will work. Please trust me." Draco nodded and Sirius sighed. With a glare in Sirius' direction, Narcissa stood up. "It is time for Draco's lessons. We'll be out for most of the day. I'll leave instructions with the house elves to make sure there is food here all day."

"Thanks, Narcissa."

Narcissa inclined her head and then tilted it toward Draco. Nodding, he stood. "It was nice to meet you, in person, Sirius." Sirius flashed a smile and Draco followed his mother out of the house. Walking back toward the main house, Draco muttered to his mother, "You manage to surprise me every summer."

Narcissa's laugh rang out, much to Draco's happiness. It was a sound that he didn't hear often enough.


	20. Chapter 20

The next week passed quickly. Narcissa took Draco into muggle London almost every day. She made sure that Draco handled all of the muggle money and that he could use the tube and hail a taxi. Draco wasn't sure what arbitrary list Narcissa was checking off in her mind, however, he was interested in everything that she showed him.

After their trips into muggle London, they usually spent the afternoon and evening with Sirius. Draco found it strange to have a male around who wasn't his father. He found that, although Sirius had a temper, it was nowhere near as bad as his father's. For the most part, he was easygoing, but when his temper got riled, he would shout and curse. Narcissa seemed to enjoy it and would shout and curse right back until their argument was forgotten and one or both of them was doubled over laughing.

The first couple of arguments, Draco had been on high alert. He often found his hand clasped around his wand when their voices started to get louder. However, he often relaxed and enjoyed Narcissa yelling about Sirius not demanding a trial or Sirius shouting about Narcissa needing to contact Andromeda. Good natured family arguments, where both people clearly cared for one another was a new phenomenon for Draco. He tried to not let his body tense when these arguments happened, however, he knew he was losing that battle when he felt Sirius' eyes on him several times during a few of their arguments. After that, it seemed like Sirius chose to pick more arguments, just for fun.

On Friday, after nearly a week and a half of daily arguments, Sirius tried to start another one, about leaving the manor and letting muggles see him in some remote place. Narcissa immediately disagreed and told him to remain at the manor as long as he could. Draco watched them disagree back and forth for a few minutes before he noticed a small smirk on Narcissa's lips. A few minutes later, Sirius conceded and agreed to remain at the manor for longer.

After their visit, Draco walked with his mother back to the manor. She had decided to continue their occlumency lessons in the evenings, even though Draco was a natural talent. Some evenings she would perform Legilimency on him for hours, to make sure he could withstand for long periods of time. Other times, she would have him play the piano, concentrating on something else while she would surprise attack his mind. Draco was able to defend every intrusion and was glad for the practice, just in case. Locking Hermione away in his mind was of the utmost importance to him.

When they reached the sitting room Narcissa preferred for the evening, Narcissa paused for a moment, to think about how best to get Draco to practice this evening. In the middle of her thoughts, a house elf arrived, popping in beside Narcissa. "Mistress," the elf spoke, "there are several men here from the ministry. They have a warrant."

Narcissa's mouth tightened into a thin line. "Thank you, I'll meet them at the front door. Don't let them in until I'm there." The elf popped away and Narcissa started walking. "Draco, be a dear and let my cousin know the ministry is here. He can leave if he wishes, but he needs to be here again tomorrow."

Draco nodded and quickly sprinted toward the gardener's quarters. Once there, he knocked quickly and let himself into Sirius' kitchen. "Sirius!" he called.

A few seconds later, Sirius strolled into view. "Missed me?" he laughed.

"The ministry is here."

"Shit."

Sirius immediately turned and ran upstairs to his room. Draco followed him since he hadn't told him Narcissa's full message. He watched as his cousin waved his wand around a few times, making the bed, tidying the room and gathering the few belongings that Narcissa had purchased for him in muggle London. With his few belongings, Sirius swept by Draco and ran back downstairs. Throwing his belongings into a bag that Narcissa had also purchased for him, Sirius waved his wand again, repeating his cleaning spells.

Satisfied, he turned to Draco. "Once I'm gone you have to do one more spell before they come in here." He described the spell, one that would make sure not even a hair of Sirius' was left in the house. Draco practiced the spell a few times and Sirius nodded. "Good enough."

As Sirius prepared to apparate away, Draco told him, "Mother expects you back by tomorrow."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Maybe."

"You don't want to disappoint her. You care for her too much."

With a grim smile, Sirius nodded. "I do care for her. That's why I should stay away. Tell her I'll write to her before I come back, just in case. You never know what the ministry will decide. If they are watching the manor, I'm better off away. I refuse to go back to Azkaban."

"She'll be mad if you don't come back tomorrow." Draco would be upset too. Even after just a week, he was happy to have another sane family member around. He would miss Sirius too.

"I know." Sirius took a step closer to Draco. "I'm proud of you, kid." He chuckled when Draco made a face. "Well, maybe not a kid. Either way, I'm proud of you. She raised you into one hell of a great guy. Please try and take my advice and let people on the other side know who you really are. I would very much regret seeing you or your mother harmed because of what the good guys currently think of you." Draco nodded once and Sirius continued, putting one hand on Draco's shoulder. "I remember what you said when we first met. I know you have a muggleborn friend. I hope you remain friends. However, just having one ally who can vouch for you might not be enough. Think about it."

Draco nodded again and turned when he heard voices outside the gardener's house. "Go, now. Quickly!" Sirius backed away and smiled at Draco. With a loud pop, he vanished. Draco took out his wand and performed the spell that Sirius had taught him. Running upstairs, he repeated the spell in the bedroom that his cousin had been occupying. Draco looked outside from the window and could see a few ministry personnel and a few Aurors outside the manor on the lawn, but still looking toward the manor.

Running down the stairs, Draco headed for the unused front door. Once there, he walked purposefully toward the edge of the forest, away from both the gardener's quarters and the manor. Inside the line of trees, Draco took out his wand again and tried a fourth year spell that he and Hermione had been practicing earlier in the year. After a few moments, he heard his broom flying toward him, summoned by his accurate Accio spell. Mounting his broom, he flew upward, circling around the forest. On the third circle, he spotted the ministry workers walking closer, a few of them gesturing toward him, in the air. He waited until one of them called out to him and gestured for him to come closer and land. Doing one more lazy circle, he took his time coming closer, slowly changing from easy going, private Draco into evil, haughty, public Draco. He allowed his mouth to form into a sneer and his nose to come up, ever so slightly. Landing at the feet of the assembled group, he looked around. Weasley's father was part of the group, as were a couple of aurors that Draco recognized from their uniform.

One Auror spoke up. "Wotcher, Malfoy." Draco nodded and stared at the woman. "We're here searching the manor and the grounds for any signs of Sirius Black." She paused and then grinned, "Or Dark magic."

Draco's eyebrows lifted slightly. "I can assure you, you'll find neither."

Laughing, the woman elbowed another Auror. "That's exactly what your mother said."

Annoyed, Draco started walking toward the manor. "I'll be with my mother. Try not to waste our entire evening, please."

Keeping his nose slightly in the air, he stalked back toward the manor. Leaving his broom by the door, he walked through several rooms until he found his mother, back in her preferred drawing room. He paused and she darted her eyes to the door, indicating that someone was nearby. Draco nodded and flopped onto the couch. Narcissa sighed and Draco looked at her. "I wish you wouldn't sit down like that, Draco."

Draco inclined his head and moved to sit upright, with a proper posture. After a few minutes, he pulled his wand out and used Accio again to summon a book from one of the shelves across the room. Narcissa watched as the book sailed across the room and landing in her son's lap. A smile crossed her face. "That's a fourth-year spell."

Opening the book, Draco nodded. "I am a fourth-year student."

Narcissa pursed her lips. "Not yet, my dear." Draco looked up and met his mother's eyes, which once again shone with pride. Dropping his gaze back down to his book, Draco idly flipped pages as he and his mother waited.

At the sound of voices outside the drawing room, Draco looked up. He saw the colour drain from his mother's face. "Draco. Go up to your room. Now." Draco dropped his book and walked toward a different door. Pausing, he looked back at his mother. "Go, now. Write a letter for me, please. He can't come back, not with both your father home and the ministry watching. Go."

Draco darted out of the room before his father entered. On the other side of the door, Draco waited and listened for Lucius to enter the room. He froze when he heard his father asking Narcissa about the raid on the manor. Narcissa explained they were there searching for Sirius Black. Draco didn't hear his father's response, so he pressed his ear closer to the door.

"I assume because they know we are related," Narcissa said, presumably to Lucius' question.

"Yes, I am aware of your connection, Narcissa. However, why would they think to look here?"

Draco waited as silence fell. He assumed his father was searching Narcissa's mind, instead of continuing to ask questions aloud.

"I see you've had no contact with him. Why would you let them into the house?"

"They had a warrant. They won't find anything, so I thought it would be the easiest way for them to be satisfied enough to not return."

Lucius began to respond when another voice startled Draco. "What are you doing?"

Draco moved away from the door and turn toward the woman who had spoken. It was the female Auror, who had spoken to him outside. "None of your business."

Sighing, she took a step closer. "Why are you listening at the door?"

Draco sneered again, wishing he had headed up to his room as his mother had ordered. Not wanting to answer, he decided to continue to play his part. "I can do whatever I wish in my own home. Have you done enough gaping at the splendor to satisfy you when you crawl back to whatever hovel you live in?" Draco took a few more steps away from the door, down the hallway which would lead to a set of stairs that he could take to disappear up to his room.

"Sorry to disappoint, but I don't live in a hovel." The woman continued walking toward Draco, who took a few more steps backward. "Scared, Malfoy?"

"Of course not." Draco raised his nose a little higher, to look down at the woman in front of him.

Suddenly, the woman changed. Growing taller, her hair changed colours and her body changed into that of Professor McGonagall. Surprised, Draco opened his mouth and then closed it again. "What about now?" The woman asked. Draco shook his head and the woman tilted hers, studying him. "And now?" Suddenly, she changed again, her hair lengthening and lightning, her face changing shape as she suddenly became his father. Draco took a quick step backward and the woman laughed.

The sound of female chuckling coming out of his father's mouth caused Draco to fill with uneasiness. "How are you doing this? Did you modify a polyjuice potion?"

The woman laughed again and transformed back into her shorter self, complete with pink hair. "Nope. Just your run of the mill metamorphmagus." Draco's eyes widened. Metamorphmagus were rare, certainly not run of the mill. At the look on Draco's face, the woman seemed pleased. "Well, I'm glad you're not an idiot." She looked around and then whispered to Draco, "I don't know if he was here, but I'm glad there are no signs of it. My boss is probably informing your parents that our search was unsuccessful. But, with no leads on the whereabouts of our cousin, I'm sure we'll be back. Let your mom know."

Stunned, Draco froze and watched the woman walk away. Once she was out of sight, he turned in the opposite direction and ran to a different set of stairs. Taking them two at a time, he dashed down another hallway, turned and ran down one more hallway. Slowing down, he turned once more and quickly opened his door. Closing it, he moved to his desk, in the corner of his room and grabbed a piece of paper. He quickly jotted down a message. "My father is at home. The ministry is planning on returning. Wait for a letter." Without signing it, Draco rolled it up and called for a house elf. Once one popped into his room, he asked it to bring an owl to him. Less than 30 seconds later, Draco was tying a note onto a disgruntled owl's leg and telling it to find Sirius. He opened his window and the owl took off.

Draco spent the rest of his evening in his room, reading a transfiguration text that he had found on his father's shelves. It seemed to be a higher level text and contained spells that he hadn't studied yet, but Draco had no idea what year it was originally meant for. After a couple of hours of reading, he heard a soft knock on his door. Setting down the book and crossing the room, he opened the door a crack. Seeing his mother, he opened it further and she stepped inside. Draco blanched at the state of his mother's face. It was obvious she had taken the brunt of Lucius' wrath this evening.

"Mother, are you -"

Narcissa cut him off, "nevermind, Draco. I just came to thank you for listening to me and leaving." She paused and smiled for a second, ignoring the pain the movement created. "Did you send the letter?" Draco nodded and Narcissa sighed in relief. "Your father didn't mention why he was home early. I hope he needs to return shortly." Draco's head dropped to the floor. Staring at his feet, he wished furiously that he and his mother had left with Sirius. "I'm sorry, my dear. I thought we had longer." Draco nodded but remained silent.

With a sigh, Narcissa reached out and lifted Draco's head. He raised his head but didn't meet her eyes. "Did you meet Nymphadora tonight?" Confused, Draco shook his head. Narcissa continued. "She was one of the Aurors. Shorter, with the pink hair?"

Draco's eyes widened, slightly. "She found me, said that she was glad there weren't any signs of Sirius. And to let you know that the ministry would be back. I included it in the letter I sent." He paused and stared at his mother's small smile. "Who is Nymphadora?"

"Another cousin of yours," Narcissa replied. Draco wracked his brain but couldn't think of how he and Nymphadora would be related. At his look of confusion, Narcissa continued. "My sister, Andromeda ran off with a muggleborn, Ted Tonks. She was removed from the family that day. They had a daughter and named her Nymphadora. She's your first cousin."

"You didn't teach me about them when I was little. You taught me about Sirius, but not Andromeda, or Nymphadora."

Narcissa nodded. "Andromeda was too hard to talk about." She took a deep breath and continued. "She still is. But, since she was disowned I didn't have to teach you about her. No one would have asked anyway." Narcissa hung her head. "I taught you about Sirius because he is technically the head of the Black family, disowned or not. He's all that's left."

"Plus, you had to tell me about Azkaban," Draco added.

"Yes, I suppose so." Narcissa smiled slightly. "I am heading to bed Draco, I just wanted to check in. I love you."

"I love you too, Mother," Draco replied.

Narcissa left his room and Draco returned to his bed, no longer interested in his book. He lay there for quite some time, thinking about his lost family members and the many bruises that were forming on his mother's face. After a long time, he fell asleep, still fully dressed, on top of the covers.


	21. Chapter 21

A letter from Sirius came a few days later. Draco was the one to receive it and read it quickly. It said he was safe and had headed south, somewhere tropical. He and Narcissa weren't to worry, and that he would see them again soon. It was signed with a paw print, but otherwise had no connection to the author. Draco destroyed the letter after he read it and told his mother about it later when they were alone.

The rest of the summer fell into a pattern Draco was not altogether happy about. His father would remain at home, terrorizing Draco and Narcissa for a few days and then disappear for a day or two. Narcissa would usually be recovering both days, so Draco would practice flying, both on a broomstick around the grounds and as a dove, deep within the forest. He was getting the hang of flying in his animagus form. He found it not as difficult as he imagined it would be. The instinct within him helped to know when to land gently and when he should fly for a few more seconds.

Although he loved practicing his animagus skills, his father's frequent returns meant that he and Narcissa hadn't been to muggle London since Draco's first week back from school. When Lucius was in the house, Narcissa refused to leave, stating that their reason from last summer, Draco needing to practice social skills and dancing, wouldn't work this summer. She, after all, had dealt with the repercussions of that lie from Lucius and Draco wasn't about to question his mother's decision.

Since Lucius was only away a few days before returning, Narcissa didn't feel well enough to venture out of the house. When she finally started feeling better, aided by potions that Draco had learned to brew his first year at Hogwarts, Lucius would return to the house.

This pattern continued until it was almost time for the Quidditch World Cup. A week before the start of the match, Lucius called Draco into his office and told him he would be away until the morning they needed to leave for the Quidditch World Cup. Until then, he would be out of the country.

Draco, elated by this news, nodded and spoke about his excitement to watch the cup with his father. Lucius humoured him for a few minutes and then told him to leave, so he could prepare for his time away. Draco nodded and left, happy with this turn of events.

Lucius left later that day, while Narcissa and Draco stood by the fireplace, wishing him goodbye. Once he left, Narcissa let her shoulders drop and suggested they head to Diagon Alley to pick up all of his school things. Draco agreed immediately and once they were done in Diagon Alley, Narcissa called a house-elf to take their purchases home, while they headed into Muggle London for the first time since the raid. Narcissa let Draco take point on everything, including interacting with the muggle bank employees. They deposited a large amount of muggle money into one of Draco's accounts and filled yet another safety deposit box with thousands of dollars worth of ornate jewelry.

After their journey into Muggle London, Draco and Narcissa headed back to Malfoy Manor. Narcissa told Draco to go through some of his father's books, ones that might help him in the coming years. After all, this was the last summer they planned to be in the manor.

Draco was hesitant at first since he didn't enjoy spending any time in his father's study, even if Lucius was absent. However, after finding many good books about topics he and Hermione had discussed, Draco spent the rest of the week before the Quidditch World Cup in his father's study, writing down book titles that Narcissa promised to pack before she left his father.

The morning that Lucius was due to return, Draco and Narcissa waited in the main drawing-room. Narcissa had sent a few house elves earlier in the morning to set up their site at the Quidditch World Cup. Draco had packed a suitcase, just in case the match went longer than a day. Narcissa had done the same for herself and for Lucius.

The fireplace roared and Narcissa and Draco stood to welcome Lucius. He nodded at them both, satisfied with their appearance and that they were prepared for leaving. "I stopped by the ministry on my way home and picked up a Portkey for our own personal use." Lucius sighed. "They thought we would walk and use a Portkey with another family that lives close. Can you believe it? I spoke to Fudge myself and he assured me that getting our own personal Portkey wouldn't take long. It's set to go off in a few minutes." Lucius gestured, moving the plastic broken handle of a child's toy.

"What is it even supposed to be?" Draco wondered out loud.

Lucius snorted. "Muggle trash. Completely ridiculous. This whole thing, the statute of secrecy. Ridiculous."

Narcissa raised her eyebrows, warning Draco to not ask any more questions. With this quick warning, she stepped closer to Lucius, so that she could hold onto the Portkey at a moments notice. Draco followed Narcissa, standing on the other side of his father.

Together, they waited, until Lucius said. "It's time." Narcissa reached out and grabbed the plastic handle and Draco quickly followed suit. The Malfoys so rarely used Portkeys, Draco wasn't completely used to them. He felt the hook behind his belly button and soon the nausea of Portkey travel hit him. They landed as a group and Draco staggered, soon doubling over, trying to keep his stomach contents in his stomach. After a moment, he straightened and look toward his parents. Narcissa had a stoic mask on her face, but Lucius looked a little green.

With a glance at the two Malfoy men, Narcissa smiled softly and turned to lead the way toward their site. Along the way, they encountered many people that Lucius knew, who wanted to talk. Narcissa brushed them off, cooly and kept both men following close behind her. Arriving at their site, she paused to make sure it was as muggle as possible. A nondescript tent with a campfire out front. They had passed several distinctly wizarding tents, which looked rather more like houses or even castles, so she was pleased to see they blended in. Opening one side of the tent, she allowed Lucius and Draco to enter, before following them in.

Inside, they entered into a small sitting room, with a kitchen beyond. There was a hallway which led to a few rooms. All was done in a hunting cottage style that Narcissa knew Lucius favoured. She walked quickly to the table and picked up a few vials. "I have a Pepperup Potion, that will make you feel a little better. You can also try the Vitamix Potion if you don't want the steamy ears?" Narcissa turned and held out the vials to her husband and son.

Draco and Lucius both opted for the Vitamix Potion, which helped Draco a little. Still feeling queasy, he sat down on the couch in the sitting room. Lucius, however, seemed to perk right up thanks to the potion. "Thank you, Narcissa. I'm going to go outside and see what sort of neighbours we have." He then ducked through the door and disappeared.

Narcissa joined Draco on the couch, patting his knee. "Sorry, Draco. I know that you don't like to Portkey. I'll side along apparate you back home when the match is done."

Draco nodded and leaned against his mother, wishing he had opted for the Pepperup Potion. It might have come with the embarrassing side effect, but he suspected his nausea would have disappeared. Draco quickly sat upright when he saw motion at the front door. Lucius stepped back inside, glancing at Draco. "You have friends outside." He then disappeared again.

Draco sighed and stood up. The friends outside were sure to be Slytherins that his father approved of, which meant that Draco needed to become his haughty, awful self. He truly didn't think he could stomach it at the moment. Narcissa coughed and he looked toward her. "The match starts soon, you can be brief." Draco nodded again and headed for the door.

Once outside, he saw that Theo and Theo's father were standing next to Lucius. Pansy was also next to Theo. Walking toward the group, he noticed Lucius' smirk. Remembering that Lucius had been amused at Pansy's antics at the train station, Draco sighed and knew that he had to allow Pansy to fawn over him.

He joined the group and Theo drew him into a conversation, asking about his summer. As he spoke with Theo and Pansy, he noticed his father and Theo's father withdrew a bit more from the group and lowered their voices. Determined not to call attention to whatever the older men were doing, he turned to ask Pansy the same question. Her simpering drowned out any words that Draco might have overheard from the older men.

After a few minutes, Draco excused himself, telling his friends that he had to escort his mother to the game. Lucius overheard and followed suit. Inside the tent, they collected Narcissa and all together proceeded to walk to the match. Along the way, Lucius stopped to buy a few souvenirs for himself and Draco. Draco picked a button with Bulgaria's colours and a tiny figurine of Krum, the seeker for Bulgaria.

They continued to walk toward the stadium, joining the crowds of people heading the same way. Draco occasionally saw people he knew from school, however with the pace of the crowd and how many people there were, he didn't have to say a word to anyone.

Once they reached the stadium, Lucius led them upward. They climbed and climbed until the crowds thinned out and soon they were the only ones left climbing. Reaching the top box, Draco looked around and his eyes immediately fell on Hermione. She was sitting with a bunch of Weasleys and Harry, of course. He was delighted to see her, however, he didn't let that show whatsoever. Instead, he listened to his father make fun of Arthur Weasley. When Lucius glanced at Hermione, Draco felt his blood freeze. He didn't know what he would do if his father tried to hurt Hermione, or said something nasty. Draco worried as Lucius scanned Hermione and dismissed her. Relieved, Draco followed his father to sit down. Once he sat between his parents, he attempted to ignore the group of people further down their row.

Draco was on the edge of his seat for most of the game. He tried to keep Hermione and the ton of Weasleys out of his mind by paying close attention to Krum. Hopefully, he could pick up a trick or two and use it to beat Harry in a game, at least once. Although, with Harry watching the exact same thing, he doubted he would be able to try anything surprising.

When Krum caught the snitch and ended the game, losing to Ireland, Draco fell back into his seat. "I can't believe it!" He cried out. "He ended it, even though he knew they would lose!"

Lucius chuckled, still in a fantastic mood. "Entertaining, though?"

Draco nodded and watched the Irish team collect their trophy. Once they left to do a lap around the stadium, Lucius stood and gestured for his family to follow him. Draco and Narcissa fell into step behind Lucius. Draco decided to not even look toward Hermione, Harry, and the Weasleys. Lucius led them all the way back to their tent, where a few house elves had a meal laid out for them. They sat down and discussed the match like they were a normal family. At one point, Draco glanced over at his mother, not believing how nicely his father was behaving. Narcissa raised her eyebrows, a subtle warning to not call attention to Lucius' good mood.

After their meal, Lucius left and Narcissa and Draco retired to the sitting room, to read and listen to the partiers celebrating the Irish win. Narcissa asked if Draco wanted to go and find a few friends and have some fun but Draco shook his head and remained where he was. When Draco started to get tired, he stood up and bid his mother goodnight.

Later, Narcissa shook him awake.

"Mother?" Draco asked, groggily.

"Get up now. Get dressed." Narcissa barked out her orders and hurried out of the room, calling "Quickly!" over her shoulder.

Panicked, Draco dressed and grabbed his wand. When he arrived in the sitting room, just minutes after being woken up, Narcissa narrowed her eyes. "You need to be quicker. More alert. We'll need to work on that." Draco nodded, still confused as to what was happening. Narcissa continued. "You need to leave. Head for the trees. Wait inside the tree line. If anyone approaches you, hide." Narcissa nodded at Draco's wand. "If you know any advanced spells that might help you hide, use them."

"Mother, what is -"

Narcissa shook her head and grabbed Draco's arm. "No time. I'll explain later." Towing him toward the door, Narcissa pushed her son out of the opening. "Trees. Go."


	22. Chapter 22

Outside, Draco looked around before heading towards the trees. As he walked, he kept his eyes out for anything out of the ordinary, however, nothing seemed amiss, aside from some very questionable and not at all muggle-like tents. As Draco approached the trees he was startled by an ear-piercing shriek in the distance. Whirling around, Draco searched for the sound. He could pinpoint the direction, but couldn't see anything yet.

As Draco paused, he began to notice flames amongst the tents in the distance. More shrieks. Satisfied that he understood why people were upset, Draco continued toward the trees. Once inside the tree line, he chose a large tree to lean against. Scanning the sea of tents, his eyes kept darting to the fire, which looked like it was spreading.

More and more screams echoed from the camp. The fire continued to spread. He could see people moving, running and yelling. Finally, he made out a group in the distance, marching slowly among the tents. They were masked and hooded.

Draco's stomach dropped. He'd seen those masks before. His eyes followed their upturned wands and then his stomach twisted. Four people were being levitated by the group marching along. They were still too far away from Draco for him to make out any details, however, he knew that his father was part of that group.

Draco watched as the group marched along, gaining in size as some wizards laughed and joined in. He watched as the group blasted tents out of the way, causing more and more fire to spread. More and more screams reached Draco, as he stood there, following his mother's orders to hide.

The marching group, with Lucius more than likely at the centre of it, continued their path across the field. Draco watched as people escaping the terror ran past him. He recognized a few but didn't draw any attention to himself. He knew of a few spells that would have helped him hide, however, he and Hermione hadn't started practicing them yet.

After a few minutes, Draco recognized a group of people moving quickly toward him. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were a part of it. Taking a deep breath, he quickly decided what evil Draco would be thinking at this moment. He watched Ron trip over a tree root and the rest of their group accidentally continue without Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Ignoring his mother's command to hide, Draco instead said something nasty, channeling the confident and relaxed manner he assumed evil Draco would have. As he and Ron exchanged words, he glanced at the campground and tried to get them to continue moving. All of them needed to be safe and far away from his father, especially Hermione.

Draco called Hermione a mudblood and yet again felt sick to his stomach. His acting was improving, however, and his aloof manner didn't change, even though he hated what he was doing. When they finally started moving again, thanks to Hermione realizing Draco was prodding them to get moving, he called out a final warning, telling Hermione to keep her bushy head down.

He was somewhat torn as the three friends disappeared into the forest. He was glad that Hermione had escaped the campground and his father's display, however, he would have liked to join them, to have Harry know he was on his side and to be able to protect Hermione.

Draco looked back at the grounds, where flames were shooting higher and the group containing his father had either moved out of sight or disbanded. Suddenly, a lone figure caught his eye. Hurrying toward the treeline was his mother. He debated whether or not he was supposed to remain hidden, even from her. As she drew nearer, he moved slightly, drawing her sight. She smiled and shook her head. "I said to remain hidden, but I suppose I would have missed you if you hadn't moved." She drew her wand and pointed it at Draco, who stood, taken aback in front of her. "What did I give you for your seventh birthday?"

Confused, Draco thought back and remembered, "A drawing pad, with charcoal."

"Correct." Narcissa sighed. "You should be asking me one too."

"Is this necessary?" One stern look from his mother silenced Draco. "Alright, but I'm pretty sure even someone with polyjuice could not master that look." He thought quickly and asked, "What did we do for my birthday this year?"

Narcissa smiled, "We spent time in muggle London, specifically riding the tube, just for fun. Alright, my boy. We need to get out of here, fast. I think we can apparate out, are you all set?" At Draco's nod, Narcissa reached out and grabbed hold of Draco's arm. Turning, she apparated them back home, landing a short walk from the manor, close to the house that Sirius had been staying in. "Your father is probably inside. The official story is that he came back here after the match. You didn't want to come home so soon, so I stayed with you. We will be asked, I'm sure."

"By who?" Narcissa raised one eyebrow but didn't mention any names. Draco stopped walking and Narcissa stopped alongside him. "Mother, did you know what he was going to do tonight?"

"I had a few suspicions, but I didn't know for certain."

"Then why did we stay?" Narcissa raised another eyebrow and Draco fell silent. His father had told her to stay, probably wanting Draco to see the show. "What now?" Draco whispered. "Does he want to talk to me about it?"

Narcissa sighed. "I'm not sure. He told me he was going out and that you and I were not to leave until he gave his permission. I woke you up when I was certain and you got out of the tent before anything started. I stayed close and your father checked in before apparating home. He was pleased I listened but concerned where you were. I said I told you to find a good vantage point. Again, he seemed pleased by that answer." Narcissa squeezed Draco's arm. "I'm sorry my love. Next summer, we can leave and not come back." She looked toward the manor. "But right now, I think you might have to go in there and listen to how much your father enjoyed torturing those muggles. And I think you'll have to agree with him."

Draco blanched but schooled his face quickly. Nodding once, he started walking again, his mother right by his side. Entering the manor, they headed toward the study that his father used, wanting to check-in. Draco wanted desperately to walk past and continue upstairs, but he instead knocked on the door while Narcissa waited beside him.

Lucius called for them to come in and together they entered his study. Lucius was sitting behind his desk, papers were strewn in front of him. He glanced up to see Draco and Narcissa standing in the doorway. "Is anyone here?" Narcissa shook her head and Lucius nodded. "Good. You can leave Narcissa."

With a glance at Draco, Narcissa nodded and closed the door behind her. Draco took a deep breath and waited for his father to address him. After a few minutes, Lucius tilted his head toward Draco. "So, your mother said you found a good place to watch?"

"Just inside the tree line. I was hidden, but could see almost everything."

Lucius nodded and lapsed into silence again. Finally, he leaned forward, his eyes gleaming. "I'm glad you saw it. Next time, you'll have to join in and not hide."

Draco inclined his head, inwardly panicking. However, he knew that he could not do anything other than agree with his father. "Next time."

Lucius leaned back, satisfied with Draco's response. "You can go now." Draco nodded and hurried out of his father's office.

He walked quickly toward his room, intent on hiding. As he approached, he contemplated hiding in it until school started next week. Draco entered his room and eyed his bed. He didn't know what time it was, but he desperately wanted to crawl into his bed and not leave again. It must have been close to four in the morning and Draco felt the tiredness in his body. Before he could move toward his bed, the door opened behind him. He glanced over his shoulder to see Narcissa enter his room. "Just wanted to check on you before you sleep."

Draco nodded and said, woodenly, "He wants me to join in next time."

Narcissa blanched and stepped forward to put her hands on Draco's shoulders. She closed her eyes briefly, drawing herself together. "We will be away from here before that happens. Trust me. We have another week and then Christmas and Easter. After that, we'll be ready. I also want you to practice a few things while at school, can you do that for me?" Draco nodded again and Narcissa's heart broke even more. "I'm sorry, my love." She rubbed his shoulders and sighed. "I'm truly sorry." Draco turned slightly and Narcissa let go. "I'll let you sleep." Once Narcissa left the room, Draco collapsed onto his bed and fell asleep immediately.

The next week passed quickly. His father remained in a good mood, bolstered perhaps by the events of the Quidditch Cup. Draco and Narcissa managed to head into muggle London one last time before school started. Narcissa gave Draco a few tasks to work on at school, including trying to train himself to be more alert when waking up, even if it is in the middle of the night. Draco was not looking forward to working on that task but had agreed nevertheless.

Although the week did pass quickly, Draco couldn't wait for September 1st so that he could see Hermione again. It had been a long summer, with so much happening he couldn't wait to tell her all about it. The morning of September 1st, Draco rose early. He got ready and made sure he was fully packed.

While double-checking his trunk, his mother knocked on his door and then walked into the room. "Draco, your father wanted to see you in his study." She looked calm, so Draco assumed that Lucius had no ulterior motives and was still in a pleasant mood.

Together, they walked to Lucius' study. Draco knocked and when his father called out, entered the room. Narcissa followed behind. Lucius looked up from his desk and smiled widely. Internally, Draco recoiled from such a strange expression on his father's face but outwardly showed nothing. Lucius beckoned him forward. "Draco, I need to tell you some exciting news. You have something to look forward to this year." Draco waited and Lucius continued, "The Triwizard Tournament is happening this year!"

Draco's mouth dropped open in shock. "Really?"

Lucius chuckled and nodded his head. "It was confirmed to me only this morning. I knew something was in the works, but I had no idea it was something this huge. I wanted to let you know that there are going to be a lot of important people at Hogwarts this year. A couple of former colleagues of mine will be there as well. Make sure that you are on your best behaviour, befitting of a Malfoy."

"Of course, father."

Satisfied, Lucius leaned back in his chair. "I don't think this knowledge is widespread just yet. Dumbledore, the old fool, probably wants to announce it and make it a spectacle. However, it is advantageous for you to know as soon as possible."

Draco swallowed and asked, somewhat tentatively, "Do you think I should enter?"

Lucius shrugged. "I doubt that you would be able to succeed. I've seen you fly." Draco's shoulders dropped at that remark. Lucius continued, "but you don't have to worry about entering or not. Dumbledore has insisted on only allowing competitors who are of age."

Draco nodded and remained silent. Behind him, Narcissa coughed politely, "Lucius, it is almost time to head to the platform." Lucius nodded and together, all three Malfoys headed toward the floo. Narcissa called for a house-elf to bring Draco's trunk and then the three of them called out platform nine and three quarters and were whisked away in a flash of green fire. On the platform, Lucius nodded to Draco and Narcissa gave him a big hug. Thankful to be finally heading back to Hogwarts, Draco waved goodbye and got onto the train for another year.


	23. Chapter 23

Draco made it halfway to Hogwarts before the temptation to find Hermione won. He ordered Crabbe and Goyle to follow him and stalked off to find Hermione and her two friends. Once in their compartment, he insulted Ron and insinuated that he knew more than them about the Triwizard Tournament. He refused to say anything mean to Hermione, wanting their first conversation back to be a lovely one, not an evil Draco one.

While being nasty to the other occupants of the compartment, Draco stole a few glances at Hermione. She met his gaze once and his chest tightened suddenly. Confused, he felt growing warmth and decided to leave their compartment. Once back with the other Slytherins, Draco puzzled over his reaction to Hermione's look. He must have missed her more than he thought.

Since September 1st was a Thursday, he had to wait to see Hermione until the next day. Draco decided to go for a walk and to stay out of his dorm for a while, just in case Theo was still suspicious like he was the last term.

The next day did not go well for Draco. After picking a fight with Ron, Draco saw red when Ron insulted his mother. Narcissa was an amazing woman, who had dealt with so much from her family and his father, Ron had no right insulting her. When he thought about it after, he didn't need to have evil Draco insult Ron's mother either. However, at the time he hadn't been thinking clearly and when he pulled his wand, thinking about defending his mother, he hadn't been expecting to be turned into a ferret.

When he returned to his regular human shape, Draco was in a great deal of pain. His body, although small and ferret-like, was still flung around by a professor. While he had endured more pain from his father, Draco still did not like being on the receiving end of someone else's wrath.

To make matters worse, the whole event happened in front of Hermione. When he was marched off by Professor Moody, he had locked eyes with Hermione and felt his stomach flip. After talking with Moody and Snape and being dismissed, Draco walked slowly to his and Hermione's meeting room.

When he opened the door to their meeting room, he was surprised to find Hermione already in their room. She jumped up and ran toward him, throwing her arms around him. Draco hugged her close, breathing in her scent and closing his eyes. The summer was too long to go without seeing or talking to Hermione. Thankfully, next summer, he and his mother would be away from his father and perhaps he could see Hermione.

After a long hug, Hermione pulled away and Draco let her go, although he didn't want to. His chest was tight again and his cheeks felt hot. Wondering if he was getting sick, Draco cleared his throat and asked: "Why are you here so early?"

"I scarfed down some food and headed straight here. I can't believe Professor Moody did that to you!" Hermione sat near the wall, in her usual spot. Draco joined her, close enough that she was within reach. "I'm so sorry, Draco. He's a professor and even if you have a role to play, he had no right to do that!"

Draco smiled at Hermione's outrage. "I know. It hurt. But," He paused and then shrugged his shoulders. "I think I should take it as a lesson. If I am to continue to play my role as evil Draco, I have to start being smarter about who witnesses it. Going for my wand like that in front of a professor was not the smartest move."

Hermione nodded slowly, "Fine. But I don't like seeing you hurt."

"Thanks, Hermione." After a pause, Draco leaned toward Hermione. "You'll never believe what my mother did this summer."

"Did you leave?" Hermione's mouth opened and her eyes lit up. "Are you away from your father?"

"No, unfortunately, that's not it." Draco sighed. "I guess it's less exciting, but I still thought it was cool. When I got home, my mother was harbouring a fugitive." Draco's eyebrows were raised, in hopes that Hermione would understand what he was talking about.

"No!" Hermione covered her mouth, her eyes wide. "He was at your house?"

Draco nodded. "My father was away frequently at the beginning of summer. When my father was away, my mother hid a certain person in the gardener's house. We spent some time together." Draco continued, describing Sirius and how Sirius had gotten along with himself and his mother. He recapped the raid, meeting his other cousin, the metamorphmagus, and then glossed over the rest of the summer.

Hermione listened, gasping in the right parts and rubbing her hand on Draco's knee at others, knowing that he deliberately left out parts of his time at home for her sake. Once he was finished, she told him about going home and seeing her parents, about seeing a few muggle friends from her primary school. Hermione told him about spending time at Ron's house and how nice it was to be around a wizarding family. "Ron's house just feels so normal, you know?" Hermione tried to explain and Draco nodded.

"Maybe because you can be yourself there?" Draco wondered.

Hermione paused to think before nodding. "Maybe. I feel like I can be myself at home too. It's just that my parents don't understand what life is like here. Magic is so foreign to them. And I'm not allowed to do it out of school, so they can't even get used to it. I try my best to explain, but sometimes seeing is believing."

"That makes perfect sense to me." Draco smiled. "I wonder if your feelings will change as you grow older? I mean, when you're 17, you'll be able to show them anything you wish to. It might make it easier."

"True." They lapsed into silence for a few minutes, before Hermione slanted a glance at Draco. "Should we discuss the Quidditch World Cup?"

Draco sighed and nodded. He closed his eyes and told Hermione all that he knew. He described his mother waking him up, watching the masked men from the tree line and knowing his father was down there. "To make it all worse, when we got home he said that I should join in next time." Draco closed his eyes, not wanting to see the fear or pity in Hermione's eyes. "He thinks there's going to be a next time. Another time to torture muggles. And he wants me to join in."

Hermione stared at Draco, who still had his eyes closed. Reaching a hand toward his, she grasped tight. "Draco, you are a good person. You've been playing a role. Even if your father makes you do something, that doesn't change the fact that you are a good person. However," she paused and Draco opened his eyes to see Hermione's wide smile. "You and your mother have been planning on leaving. Perhaps he won't get a chance to make you do anything."

Thinking it over, Draco nodded. They again fell into silence. In that silence, they heard footsteps approaching. Draco looked at Hermione, panicked. Hermione, on the other hand, did not panic. She drew her wand and tapped it on Draco's head and then moved it around herself, quickly. The tap on Draco's head felt like something cold and wet was sliding down from the top of his head. He looked down and saw that he blended into the wall behind him. Glancing at Hermione, he saw that she blended in as well. They both remained motionless as the door to their classroom slowly opened.

Once the door was fully opened, Draco held his breath. It was Theo looking into the room. Draco and Hermione sat, unmoving and barely breathing as Theo furrowed his brow and looked around briefly, before turning and leaving. After a few minutes, Draco felt Hermione stand. Although he could not see her, he heard faint steps very slowly walking toward the door. The door didn't move and the sounds of Hermione's steps stopped. He waited and listened since he couldn't see Hermione at all. Finally, Hermione's soft steps sounded again as she made her way back to Draco. She whispered, "Where are you?"

Draco reached his hand outward and whispered: "Right here."

Hermione found him, based on his voice and used his hand to sit down again, closer than she had been before. Still whispering, she continued, "I can't see him in the hallway, but that doesn't mean he won't loopback. I think we have to be done for the night."

Draco sighed, quietly and nodded his head. He realized afterward that Hermione couldn't see his nod. "Yes, I agree. Theo was suspicious of me in June. He mentioned that I only seemed to go on walks on certain nights."

Hermione gasped softly. "We are drawing attention to ourselves."

"No, I think that Theo's just paranoid. We might try meeting Tuesdays and Thursdays for the next little while?"

"Maybe." Hermione paused and then continued, "We might have to find another place to meet."

"Agreed." They both stopped to think for a moment and then Draco shook his head. "We'll have to think about it. Can we agree to meet here on Tuesday? I'll go for a walk on Monday and maybe even invite him. Hopefully, that'll confuse him."

"Okay." Hermione's soft voice was a little sad and Draco wished that he could see her face. She sighed and then spoke again, "Do you know how to remove the charm?"

"No."

"Okay, I'll remove it for you, but then I'm going to leave it on myself until I'm away from the room, just in case. That way, if he's watching, he won't see me."

"But if he's watching the room, he'll know no one was in here and then see me leave it. Won't that make him suspicious?"

Hermione was silent for a moment. "We can both go elsewhere and then I can remove the charm?"

Draco agreed. Together, they left their classroom and headed to another floor. To not lose each other, Draco and Hermione held hands. Draco tried to think about other things that the heat from Hermione's hand, but instead he could only think about his hand in hers and hope that his palms were not too sweaty. They didn't see Theo along the way, so Draco felt rather silly making Hermione take all the extra precautions. Once they were further down an abandoned hallway, Draco pulled Hermione into an alcove and whispered: "Okay, I should be able to avoid him now." Hermione tapped her wand on Draco's head again. Once his body was visible again, he looked down at his hand, still holding her invisible one. "I'm going to need to learn this charm, quickly."

Hermione's disembodied laugh startled Draco slightly. "We can work on the charm Tuesday."

Draco nodded and wished Hermione goodbye. He felt her hand pull away and heard her soft steps walking slowly away. Draco slowly made his way down toward the dungeons. Along the way, he encountered Theo. Nodding at him, he gestured for Theo to join him. "I was just finishing my walk. It's good to be back here. I've missed this place." Theo made a small sound of agreement and walked silently down to the dungeons with Draco. Once in their common room, Draco separated from Theo and headed toward their dorm. He had a lot of thinking to do about how to evade Theo in the future.


	24. Chapter 24

The next few days saw Draco becoming increasingly frustrated by Theo. Draco had tried to throw Theo off his scent by taking walks on both Saturday and Sunday. Both times he had wandered into Theo, who seemed to be satisfied by finding Draco. On Sunday, Theo had found him early in his walk and finished the rest of the walk at Draco's side. On Monday, Draco decided not to go for a walk at all, which would hopefully confuse Theo. Instead of going for a walk, Draco spread out his homework all over his bed and got to work. About an hour after starting, he looked up to find Theo watching him in the doorway.

Frustrated, he sneered at his friend, "Found me, finally?" When Theo didn't comment, Draco looked back at his homework. "I get that you're obsessed with me, but I'm not interested in you. Perhaps you could stalk a different guy you're in love with for a while and give me a break?"

Draco raised his eyes to meet Theo's to gauge his reaction. Theo's face reddened and a brief look of anger crossed it. Draco watched as Theo gained control of his emotions and calmed himself down in less than a minute. "You're a dick, Malfoy."

Quirking an eyebrow, Draco decided to push a little further. "That explains why you love me so much, I guess. Dicks are your thing."

Theo again tamped down his anger and shook his head. "I'm not in love with you, jerk. I am suspicious about what you get up to most nights. Monday, Wednesday and Friday all last term you disappeared and no one could find you. Not even Pansy." Draco shrugged and Theo continued, "I don't think you like taking walks, Saturday and Sunday you seemed like you were walking just to placate me. I want to know what you're up to."

"Not very Slytherin to be asking straight out." Draco pointed out. Theo rolled his eyes and waited for an answer. Draco thought for a few moments before sighing and looking at Theo. He decided a little bit of truth would hide the big important lie. "Theo, you know what your dad is like." Theo nodded, unhappily. "Mine is just as bad. If not worse. You know what they did at the Quidditch World Cup. I know your father was talking to mine. They got out their old masks and they had a bit of fun." Draco paused and sent a scathing glare at Theo. "Tell me, Theo, was your father in a great mood for the rest of the break? It seemed like mine was still flying high afterward. His good mood meant my last week was very peaceful."

Theo nodded and then spoke, "Yes, my father was in a good mood after the World Cup. But, this doesn't explain why you disappear all the time."

Draco shrugged and continued, "No, not really. I suppose I just needed to make sure you understood the pressure that I'm feeling at home. You must since your father is so similar to mine." Theo nodded, still sullen. "Since you know, I would hope you understand why I like to disappear often throughout the school year. I know what is expected of me. I know that my father looks down on most of the filth that attends this school. I can't stand most of them myself. However, the pressure that Lucius Malfoy exerts means that often I just want to escape. I go for walks. I fly. I sit in the library at the back, where people rarely go and just exist. It's easier than constantly reasserting who I am and who my father demands that I will be." Draco paused and studied Theo, hoping this tactic was working. "Another bonus to disappearing lately is getting away from Pansy. She's like an octopus. And, my father thinks it's humorous to have her fawn over me. Told me he approved. As if that's the goal for any 14-year-old thinking about girls. Pansy's chances, slim as they were, definitely decreased when my father told me he approved. Sometimes I'm leaving the common room and disappearing solely to not have to deal with Pansy anymore." Draco sighed and looked at Theo. "Does any of this make sense? Are you still waiting for me to confess to having a secret relationship with some filthy half-blood in Ravenclaw? Or can you accept that I need time to myself and time to wrestle with the fact that daddy dearest wants me to follow in his footsteps?"

Draco stopped and thought over his words. He hoped that he hadn't given too much away. Draco had tried to maintain the evil Draco persona, even as he complained about his father. He hung his head and waited for Theo's verdict.

After a long pause, he heard Theo approaching him. He turned and watched as Theo sat down on the bed beside Draco. "I'm sorry." Theo started. "I don't know what it's like for you at home, but I do know what it's like living with my father. And I wouldn't wish that on anyone else. I'm sorry for being so suspicious. I'm sure you realize, but you are a leader in our house, certainly in our year. And when someone is a leader, they face more scrutiny than others. I get that you have pressure from your father and you need a break here. I'll try to let you have one. Just," Theo paused and laid one hand on Draco's shoulder. "Don't forget that there are others around you who are going through the same things. You don't have to shut yourself off from everyone."

Draco nodded and Theo stood up. Before Theo could leave the room, Draco asked quietly, "Do you want to meet in the library on Wednesdays? I'll show you where I normally sit and we can study together. Or study in silence together. Either one works for me." Theo smiled and nodded and then disappeared out the door.

Draco laid back on his bed, staring upward at the panel on his four-poster bed. He hoped that Theo would leave well enough alone now. Draco would plan to spend more time with Theo and perhaps with the rest of his house in the common room, just so that he could have an evening or two with Hermione.

The secret friendship between Hermione and himself was getting harder and harder to keep secret. For a few minutes, Draco fantasized about Hermione keeping the time-turner so that all of their meetings for the next few years could take place in a time loop. However, he knew that the time turner had been hard on Hermione and he didn't want her to suffer.

Going back to his homework, Draco tried to focus but his mind kept thinking of places to meet Hermione. Now that Theo had overtly demanded to know where Draco was, he needed to be extra cautious, even after their talk.

The next day Draco bumped into Hermione during one of their shared classes and dropped a note by her hand. She snatched it up quickly and listened as he said something rude to her. At supper, he waited and watched and finally made eye contact with her, where she gave him the smallest of nods.

Draco headed back to his common room after supper. For the next hour, he let Pansy drape herself all over him. At times, he made eye contact with a few of the other students around him, including Theo. After enduring Pansy for an entire hour, he finally brushed her off and sent a 'please help me' look to Theo. Theo nodded and distracted Pansy so that Draco could slip away.

Satisfied, Draco left his common room and headed to the classroom that he and Hermione had claimed as their own. Once inside, he whispered, "Hermione?"

A hand brushed against his hand and he seized it. Hermione's voice sounded in front of him. "I figured I should be invisible, just in case."

Draco sighed and agreed. "Yes, it's probably for the best. Theo confronted me and demanded to know why I am avoiding the common room so often."

Hermione sighed as well. "That's too bad. We're going to have to be more careful."

"Yes, we are." Draco ran his thumb over Hermione's hand. "I don't want you to come to any harm. And it's a certainty if anyone found out."

"I know. We need to figure out another place. And I think you have an idea."

Confused, Draco furrowed his brows. "I do?"

Disembodied laughter from Hermione sounded and she explained. "Last year you were kind of obsessed with a certain corridor?"

Draco's eyes widened. "I almost forgot! The seventh floor!"

"Let's go and explore. I'll remain invisible and you can be seen stalking through the halls alone. Sound good?"

"Yes it does, but how will we talk out in the open?"

"I brought Harry's map. Once we're there, I'll activate it and we can check and see if anyone is near."

Excited, Draco agreed and together they started for the seventh floor. Along the way, they ran into Theo, who seemed to be heading in the direction of the library. After nodding to what appeared to be a solo Draco, Theo continued off on his own. Draco, with Hermione right behind him, continued his treck up to the seventh floor. Once there, he watched a piece of paper materialize and Hermione whisper the words, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," before thrusting the paper at Draco. "You hold it, so if someone manages to surprise us, they won't see a floating piece of paper by you."

"Of course." Draco stared down at the map and checked to make sure he and Hermione were alone. "It looks like no one else is near. And, just like before, the room or whatever it is isn't on the map."

Hermione's voice sounded closer to the wall. "I came here yesterday because I had thought about what you said all summer. And with Theo surprising us, I thought that maybe we could make this place work for us."

Draco waited and when Hermione didn't continue, asked, "What happened yesterday?"

"Well, I got here and there was just an empty expanse of wall. So I walked past, thinking maybe you had described a different section of the wall. But then I walked back because you said it was across from this tapestry. The whole time I was thinking, 'I want to see Draco's room.' The third time I walked past, there was a door."

"And?"

"And, I opened the door to see a room with a bed. All done in Slytherin colours. Books everywhere, picture frames, you name it."

She paused and Draco gasped, "That sounds like my room at home!"

"Right!" Hermione continued. "So I left and walked away. I thought about it and we have three different times the wall changed into something. Once, you needed to get to Ancient Runes. And, after walking by this wall several times, the room created the Ancient Runes classroom. The next time, you needed a place to pace. You must have paced this corridor a few times thinking about needing to pace more. And then the door appeared and there was another hallway to pace. And last night, I needed to see your room. I wasn't specific enough, so it just created 'Draco's room' which was your room at home!"

"Amazing!" Draco stared at the empty wall in front of him. "I can't believe you figured it out! The room creates what we want or need based on what we're thinking?"

"I think so," Hermione's voice was filled with satisfaction. Although Draco still couldn't see her, he imagined that she would have a proud look on her face, from having solved one of the castles riddles. "I looked in Hogwarts: A History and the room wasn't listed. I need to do more research, but I think that this might be the solution to our problem."

"How? Someone could still follow us."

"Well, the room creates what we need. So what if it created a room no one else could get into?" Hermione's voice paused and Draco wished that she would take the invisibility spell off of herself so he could read her facial expressions. "We might have to experiment, but if I'm right, we're golden!"

Draco nodded and glanced down at the map again. No one was around. "Let's try it out, then!"

Hermione's voice sounded again, closer to him. "I'll wait right by the tapestry, not moving. I don't want the room to get confused or anything. You go and pace back and forth in front of where the door normally appears."

"What should I be asking it for?"

"How about a place to meet, in secret. A meeting room that only you and I can get into?"

"Can I be that specific?" Draco wondered. When Hermione didn't respond, he figured she had shrugged, unsure of the answer. Deciding to figure it out, Draco walked toward the wall. Pacing one way, he thought about a meeting place, just for himself and Hermione, that no one else could get into. He turned and paced back toward the tapestry and a little beyond, thinking the same thing. Again, he turned, keeping the same concept in his mind. After his third pass in front of the empty wall, a door appeared. "No way." Draco breathed. The past two times he hadn't been waiting for a door to appear and hadn't witnessed it just materialize in front of him. He reached for the door but before opening it, looked down at the map in his hands. Although there was a door right in front of him, the map still showed no room beyond the door. He checked and saw that his name and Hermione's were still the only two remotely close. Taking a deep breath, he swung open the door and felt Hermione breeze past him into the room. Closing the door behind him, he walked into the room, mouth agape.

What had been created for them was a large sitting room. There were several chairs and a couch to sit on, all pointed toward a large fireplace. There were bookshelves and a desk to work at. It was all cozily arranged, welcoming and warm. Draco was pleased to see that Hermione had lifted the spell from herself and was now visible in the room. She was marveling as well, impressed by what the room had created. "This is much better than the floor of an empty classroom, thanks, Theo." Hermione chuckled, eyes meeting Draco's.

He returned her smile, silently agreeing. He moved closer to the fireplace and sat down on the couch, putting the map on the table in front of him. Hermione moved to join him on the couch. They sat in silence for a while, both enjoying the room. After a few minutes, Draco turned to Hermione. "This is beyond perfect, but how do we know we are the only ones who can access it?"

Hermione shrugged. "I'm not sure, Draco. It created a room for us, so hopefully, that specific demand was also accounted for. What we need is more information about this room." They both sat for a while again until Hermione got off the couch to examine the wall of books. "Draco, these books are specifically for us!"

"What do you mean?" Draco stood up and joined Hermione. Once beside her, he saw that the titles on the books were subjects that they had been studying. There were book lists of Defense Spells and other books about how to become an Animagus. A lot of the books they had read in the past three years were on the shelves, among others that looked to be promising. "This is amazing."

"I know." Hermione ran her hands over the spine of one book that she had wanted to read for a while. "I might be coming here rather than the library to study now."

Draco nodded. "I agree." After a few minutes of looking at the books, Draco moved back to the couch. From his spot, he called out to Hermione. "Come and look at this!"

Hermione hurried over. "What's wrong?"

Draco shook his head. "Nothing. Look at the map."

Confused, Hermione leaned close, her hair tickling Draco a bit. He breathed in her scented shampoo and again felt his stomach flip. "Draco, I don't see us on here."

"Exactly. We're not on the map. At all." Hermione's look of confusion turned into one of surprise. Draco continued, "I think that the room can hide us. Harry won't be able to look and see us together in here." He sat back on the couch, stunned. Hermione joined him, leaning back, smiling happily. Draco studied her for a moment and then stated. "You are amazing. I can't believe you figured this out."

Hermione laughed. "You were the one who noticed all of the pieces. I just made them add up."

"Still." Draco insisted. "Amazing."

They spent the next few hours in the room, until just before curfew. They talked more about the summer, discussed their animagus forms a lot more. Hermione was very impressed with Draco's ability to control his flight, after practicing all summer. They planned what they would be studying this year, working on six and seventh-year spells. They also decided to meet randomly throughout the year. The Monday, Wednesday and Friday meetings had created too much of a pattern. Since it was Tuesday, they decided to meet on Friday.

When it was time to leave the room, Draco, who had been thinking of this question most of the evening, wondered aloud if the room would allow them to conceal their exit. As soon as Draco asked this question, a second door appeared. When opened, Draco saw a long flight of stairs downward. He turned to look at Hermione, who shrugged. "I'll go down here and go out wherever the room has decided," Draco suggested. "You go out the normal door. I'll see you on Friday."

Hermione nodded and Draco closed the door behind him. At the bottom of the long flight of stairs, Draco saw another door. He opened it slowly and saw that he was on the fourth floor. Confused, since he had not walked down three flights of stairs, Draco quickly shut the door behind him and turned around. The door, once shut, melted away almost as it had never existed. Draco shook his head and proceeded toward the dungeons, quickly, before curfew started.


	25. Chapter 25

Quickly, Draco and Hermione got used to meeting in the room on the seventh floor. For the next couple of weeks, they met randomly, sometimes two days in a row and then not at all for five days. Draco did his best to spend time with Theo, especially on Wednesdays. So far Draco only had to skip one meeting, since he couldn't come up with a good excuse to get away from his housemates. On that particular occasion, he felt very badly and tried to apologize with a look the next morning. Since they hadn't met up, he didn't know when their next meeting would take place. That had been four days ago.

Frustrated, Draco tried to keep Hermione and the next meet up with her out of his head. Today was the day Beauxbatons and Durmstrang would be arriving. He was hopeful in all the excitement no one would notice if he slipped a note to Hermione. He managed to let a piece of paper drop at her work station in their shared Potions class. He was unable to see if she had noticed and picked it up or not.

After their short Potions class, he headed down to the front lawn and waited with the other students for the other schools to arrive. He was impressed with the Beauxbatons carriage and floored by the Durmstrang ship. His father had wanted him to attend Durmstrang, but his mother had pleaded and had endured whatever punishment Lucius had doled out for him to come to Hogwarts instead. He was grateful, of course, since he wouldn't have met Hermione if his father had gotten his way.

He was rather surprised to see Viktor Krum among the Durmstrang students. Draco had thought that Krum was older, especially since he was on his national quidditch team. He noticed other students pointing and starting to make a fuss over Krum. The mass of Hogwarts students filed behind their guests to fill up the Great Hall. Draco headed for his usual seat at the Slytherin table and was pleased to see the Durmstrang students also joining them.

Draco debated for a moment and then leaned toward Krum, and said briefly, "Welcome to Hogwarts, I hope you enjoy it here."

Krum nodded and remained silent. Draco leaned back, a smug look on his face when he noticed other students staring at their table. Many girls were whispering and debating how best to get Krum's autograph. Draco enjoyed being on the periphery of all the attention. During the meal, he spoke with other members of his house and the Durmstrang students that were near him. He chose to be friendly since evil Draco would value the powerful, dark, purebloods that would go to Durmstrang. He didn't attempt to engage Krum in conversation, sensing that the man probably had enough fame to deal with. He headed off a few questions from his housemates. Near the end of the meal, Krum lifted his head and eyed Draco before nodding once.

After Dumbledore had said his part and shown off the Goblet of Fire, Draco tried to be among the first to leave the Great Hall. He succeeded and made his way quickly to the room. Once there, he hoped that Hermione had been able to pick up his note, which had requested a brief meeting here tonight. Fifteen minutes after Draco arrived in the room, the door opened and Hermione entered. "I'm so sorry. Karkaroff recognized Harry and then Moody was all Moody about it. I wanted to get here earlier, but I also had to ditch Harry and Ron."

"It's alright, Hermione." Draco smiled and together they moved to their favourite spots on the couch.

"I'm glad to see you. What kept you last time?"

Draco sighed. "I was just about to leave to meet you, but Blaise and Theo roped me into a game of Wizard's Chess. I was supposed to play the winner and then their game took forever. Blaise beat Theo and then I beat Blaise. Theo asked to play me too. I just figured it would be a better idea to stay and spend time with them rather than leave and make Theo suspicious again. I felt really bad making you wait up here, only to not show up."

"It's okay." Hermione smiled. "I figured you had a good reason. I used my time to work on S.P.E.W."

Draco nodded non-committedly. Hermione had told him all about S.P.E.W. and although he thought she was nice for wanting to try to help, he couldn't sufficiently explain to her why the elves would never go for it. They hadn't fought, but she had been a little huffy when they had agreed to speak of something different. It didn't help that Dobby, one of his father's elves, had had such an impression on Hermione.

"Anyway," Draco changed the subject, away from S.P.E.W. "I felt bad and thought that we need a way to communicate."

"Yes, we do."

"Well, I think I came up with something." Draco reached into his book bag and pulled out a book of charms. "There's a thing called a protean charm. It can link two objects together. One needs to be a master and the other one will reflect whatever is on the master object. I'm thinking we need to think of something and then charm it so that I have a master of something of yours and you have a master of something of mine. That way we will be able to communicate without me needing to drop paper by your desk."

"That's brilliant!" Hermione gushed. She pulled the book toward her and read about how to perform the charm. "What do you think we should charm?"

"Well, originally, I was thinking something that made sense if it was together. Like, a bracelet. One charm would be charmed to reflect and the other to communicate. However, a bracelet would be okay for you, but not so much for me."

Hermione nodded and thought for a while. "Could we enchant a book?"

"What do you mean?" Draco looked puzzled.

"Could one page in the book be the master page and the opposite be the reflection? If we both had the book we could open it and look like we're reading. Or writing, as the case may be."

"Maybe. But then others might be able to see the writing. And a book could easily be found and read by someone else. It's not something that you'd keep on you all the time and notice immediately if it was missing." He sighed. "That's why I liked the idea of the bracelet. I could charm my message small on one of the stones and maybe it could heat up when the message appeared. That way you knew to check."

"I see your point." Hermione paused to think. "I would be okay with a bracelet for me, but what could we do for you? A necklace?"

Draco thought and then asked, "What about a watch?"

"Oh, that would work! We could charm the face to reflect my message. Or maybe we add stones or something to the band that we charm. It would work."

"We're going to have to wait until the next Hogsmeade weekend. Or Christmas. I'd rather buy the base material, rather than charm it. That way if a finite goes astray we would still have a watch and a bracelet, just not the protean charm."

Hermione nodded. "That makes sense to me." She then laughed. "If it's okay to change the subject, I just have to say that Ron was so jealous of you tonight." Draco raised his eyebrows and waited for Hermione to explain. "He wanted Krum to sit down at our table so badly."

Draco chuckled. "He didn't seem to want to talk. Strong, silent type maybe. If they sit at your table next, try to get Ron to not completely stick his foot in his mouth."

Hermione laughed and agreed.

They parted ways that night a little earlier than normal, deciding to meet again the next night after the champions had been picked. Draco again asked the room for a different exit and was provided with a staircase upward. Hermione decided she'd take it, hoping that it would deposit her closer to the tower.

The next day was Saturday. Draco, along with his friends, spent most of the day in the entrance hall watching different people drop their name into the goblet. He cheered when a Slytherin did and mocked anyone else with his friends. They all laughed at Fred and George Weasley, who tried to trick the age line.

Finally, that night, Draco sat at the Slytherin table, surrounded by Durmstrang students, who had decided to sit with them again. He watched as Viktor Krum was called up to be a Champion. And then a pretty blonde named Fleur Delacour. Then, finally, Cedric Diggory. Draco rolled his eyes. Although evil Draco couldn't fault Diggory's magical heritage, he still thought Diggory was boring. Draco had turned to talk to Blaise when Dumbledore started speaking and was pulled back by the silence. Turning, he saw the goblet turn red again and spit out another name. When Dumbledore read Harry's name, Draco immediately looked toward the Gryffindor table. He could see Harry, mouth open like a fish, and Hermione, hands covering her mouth, eyes wide.

He watched Hermione push Harry toward their headmaster and then met her eyes. They had planned to meet tonight, but now did she still want to? He waited until she nodded slightly and then joined in with his table discussing how the great Harry Potter had managed to do the unthinkable yet again.

Later, in their room, Draco found Hermione. She was already inside, on the couch, waiting for him. He closed the door and moved across the room to join her. He was startled to see Hermione crying. Draco moved quickly to sit beside her and comfort her. One hand on her upper back, he rubbed gently. "What's going on?"

Hermione wiped her eyes and shook her head. "I just can't believe that Harry has to go through something like this. Again. Why is it always Harry?" Draco couldn't answer, so he remained silent, gently rubbing Hermione's back as she cried a little longer. "Ron is mad that Harry's name was called."

"He's mad?"

"You should have seen his face when Harry's name was called. He was shocked, for sure. And then his face just got hard. Harry had disappeared and I turned to Ron and said something along the lines of 'poor Harry' and he just barked out this strange laugh and then stared at the table. I can just tell he's livid. I came up here rather than having to deal with it, but I just know what's going to happen next."

Draco murmured his understanding. Last year both boys had been mad at Hermione and hadn't spoken with her for quite some time. Although that had ultimately helped her conceal the mandrake leaf for their animagus potion, Draco hoped that Ron's anger wouldn't lead to Hermione being ignored now.

Hermione, tears still silently running down her face continued to speak, "People have died in the past. This tournament is not a joke and Harry is in it. Why is it always Harry?"

Shaking his head, Draco sighed. "I don't know. How could his name have gone in?" Hermione shrugged, still looking miserable. "Well, you're going to have to be the one to help him, if Ron isn't. First thing tomorrow, you have to make sure Harry knows you're on his side. Be there for him. And then together we can try to make sure he makes it through the tournament in one piece."

"Thank you, Draco."

"You're welcome. I'll research spells and pass them on to you. Although," he paused for a minute and then grimaced, "I think evil Draco is going to be a real jerk about the tournament."

Hermione nodded. "I thought so. No big deal. Maybe Harry needs that constant in his life of evil Draco being a jerk."

Draco laughed and then sat a while, thinking of what he could do to mess with Harry publically. While thinking, he saw the little S.P.E.W. badge on Hermione's robes and suddenly had a great idea. He glanced at Hermione and wondered if he should share his mean joke with her or surprise her with it later. Opting to surprise her, he instead changed the subject to the watch and bracelet that they would have to be buying during the next Hogsmeade trip. He had thought about it and realized that he would have to buy his watch and she would have to buy the bracelet. It wouldn't be a good idea for him to buy a bracelet and then have anyone, even the shopkeeper know that he had bought a bracelet for someone. When he shared this thought, Hermione agreed with him and said that she thought she would be buying it herself anyway.

They talked for a little while longer until it was nearly time for curfew. They parted ways, Hermione a little less upset and a little more focused on helping Harry. Draco, with his plan, went straight to his dorm to figure out if his badge idea would work.

Several days later, when he had succeeded in charming the badges, he debuted them to his housemates, who thought they were hilarious. They, in turn, distributed them to many, many other students.

Draco asked all of his friends to wear them to potions, the class they took with Gryffindor. They did so with glee, Pansy laughing obnoxiously already. Outside of the potions class, Draco was ready with a few retorts. Unfortunately, he resorted to calling Hermione a mudblood again. Even as the sick feeling rose in him, he drew his wand, mimicking Harry. He briefly recalled Hermione asking him to hit her with a certain spell if they ever dueled each other. Well, now was his chance. When he aimed his spell, he thought that he had missed at first. And then, Harry's spell collided with his and his tooth growing spell hit his intended target.

He watched as Hermione's teeth started growing, past her mouth and her chin. She was either an incredible actress or didn't remember asking him to hit her with this spell. His stomach flipped and he wanted to run away. Instead, he found himself explaining to Snape and watching Hermione run away to the hospital wing. Unable to do anything else, he smirked at Harry and sat down to watch Snape poison people.

When Harry was called away before Snape could poison him and test his antidote, Draco slumped down a little in his chair. Theo, who sat beside him glanced at him and whispered, "Disappointed?"

Draco nodded and leaned closer to Theo. "Five galleons says that Snape was going to pick Potter to start with." Theo nodded and chuckled.

After potions, Draco asked Crabbe if they should go and visit Goyle in the hospital wing. He shrugged and agreed and together they made their way toward the hospital wing. Once there, they collected the now de-boiled Goyle. Draco managed to look over at Hermione's bed, where she gave him one slight nod. Assuming that meant they were going to meet tonight, Draco finished the rest of his day in a good mood. When he didn't see Hermione at supper, he was a little surprised but reasoned that Madame Pomfrey might have kept Hermione in the hospital wing longer. As she had done for him in the past, Draco managed to pack some food into a napkin and put it in his pocket, just in case Hermione hadn't eaten at all.

When he arrived at the room in front of the tapestry on the seventh floor, the door was already there. He glanced around and, seeing no one, pulled it open. Inside he found a smiling Hermione, sitting on the floor, doing homework on the coffee table in front of her. Draco smiled back and entered the room. Sitting down on the couch, he gave the napkin full of food to Hermione, who thanked him with a big smile.

Draco leaned closer and asked, "Can you smile again?" Hermione brought one hand up to her mouth and a worried look crossed her face. Draco shook his head, "Nothing's wrong, I just noticed something and I wanted to make sure." Hermione smiled and Draco nodded. "You had Madame Pomfrey shrink your teeth just a tiny bit more than they were before!"

Hermione laughed. "You noticed!" She touched her teeth briefly and then beamed at Draco. "I'm so glad that you remembered that spell. I didn't know what was happening at first and it was shocking to feel my teeth growing that rapidly. But, on the way to the hospital wing, I was almost in tears just from thinking that I'd be able to get Madame Pomfrey to shrink them down a little more! My parents haven't wanted me to, but now I can tell them without even lying that I had to have them shrunk, for my safety."

Draco chuckled, "Well, I liked your teeth before, but if you're happy then I'm glad I remembered that spell. Sorry for dueling. And calling you that word again."

Shrugging, Hermione turned back to her homework. "It's okay, Draco. I completely understand why you want to apologize. However, I'm so happy about my teeth that honestly, I'm thankful that you made a big enough scene for Harry to try and duel you!"

"Alright, alright." Draco looked over at what Hermione was working on. "Oh, the essay that Flitwick assigned? I was able to finish mine last night. Want a hand?" Hermione shrugged and Draco leaned over to read what she had written. He knew that Hermione was ahead of him in classes. Although they were both reading ahead, he had decided to extend his act, not only to his behaviour but his lessons as well. He had decided back in first year that Hermione should be the one at the top of the classes and that he should hang back. Although he was determined to get good grades, he knew that Hermione deserved to be the top in their classes. He pointed out one small mistake and then suggested a way to connect two of her main points. Hermione thanked him and continued working, fixing her error and using his suggestion.

After a while, he asked, "how are you holding up with Harry and Ron?"

Hermione sighed and set down her quill. "It's awful being the one in the middle of them. Ron keeps complaining to me that Harry should have told him he was entering the tournament. When I say something like 'he didn't, it's not his fault,' he gets upset and stops talking to me as well. And if I even mention Ron to Harry, he gets mad and says things like, 'don't even mention Ron to me.' It's so frustrating."

"Sorry, Hermione. I didn't mean to make you frustrated."

"No, it's fine. It's good to talk it out with you. I just can't believe they are being so petty toward each other. They're best friends. And they're letting this come between them. It's ridiculous."

Draco agreed.

Later, they parted to head back to their dorms. The set of stairs the room produced led downwards, so Draco was the one to take the stairs. He eventually ended up near the kitchens. He managed to avoid any of the Slytherins in his year and made it to his dorm without any suspicious glances from Theo.


	26. Chapter 26

The next few weeks seemed to fly by for Draco. He continued to act like evil Draco, mocking Harry at every opportunity he had. The interview that Rita Skeeter had published had both Draco and Hermione privately seething, however, publically Draco was able to milk the article for quite some time.

Hermione continued to be frustrated with both Ron and Harry. Draco was frustrated on her behalf as well, as he watched her drag a sullen Harry around the castle and then around Hogsmeade.

During their first trip to Hogsmeade, both Draco and Hermione were able to find items that would work to charm as a means of communication between them. Hermione had purchased a charm bracelet, just like Draco had suggested. It had multiple charms on it and they decided to use two of them as part of the protean charm. Draco had found a watch with two large stones on the face of the watch that they would also use as part of the protean charm. Their next meeting after Hogsmeade they worked for most of the evening getting the protean charms to work correctly.

At the end of the evening, they had managed to get one of the stones on Draco's watch to correspond with a book charm on Hermione's bracelet. When he charmed his stone, her charm would warm to the touch and turn red. If she looked at the bracelet carefully, a few words could faintly be seen on the charm. Draco practiced charming it to read a date and a time, as well as a few short sentences. In turn, another one of the charms on Hermione's bracelet, this time a dangly clear stone, could be charmed and corresponded to the other stone on Draco's watch face. It, too, would warm the entire watch and then turn green with a few words. They were both satisfied with the results and had tested it out frequently since.

Another hurdle that Draco and Hermione were trying to overcome was the first task. Hermione had shared with Draco that the first task would be dragons. Together, they researched the 'simple spell' that Sirius had mentioned. When Hermione cancelled their meeting the night before the task, Draco assumed it was because she needed to be helping Harry. Although the watch allowed them to communicate, it was difficult to have a proper conversation and they wound up sending times that they were available and short replies, like "yes" or "no." Draco spent the evening that Hermione cancelled on him researching if there was an even better way to communicate, that would be safe from all prying eyes.

Draco watched from the stands on the day of the first task. Since he had not been able to speak to Hermione the night before, he had no idea what Harry was planning to do. He watched as the other three champions each had their turn against their respective dragons. He shouted and groaned and cheered along with the crowd for each of the champions, keeping one eye on Hermione. She sat beside Ron and kept turning to speak to him. Ron, Draco noted, looked sick to his stomach. He was white as a sheet and barely spoke to Hermione. Draco smirked and wondered if the very real possibility of his friend's death had finally gotten through Ron's thick skull.

Hermione was a lot happier in the weeks after the first task. She shared with Draco that Ron and Harry were back to being good friends, which meant that she was free to meet with Draco more. And study more. Harry had accompanied her sullenly to the library often during his and Ron's fight and she much preferred when the two of them were doing their own thing.

Draco had also been witness to Hermione's happiness at finding the kitchen and the house-elves that worked there. He nodded along as she described seeing Dobby again and how sad she was for Winky. He tried, yet again, to see her side of it, but just didn't get it. However, he knew Hermione too well to argue with her crusade for house-elf rights. Her need to help was a part of who she was.

As Christmas approached, Draco and the other fourth year and above Slytherins were called to a meeting in their common room. Meetings where Professor Snape announced something were not unheard of, so Draco and his friends waited patiently for Professor Snape to appear and lecture them about something or other. When Professor Snape did appear, he was in a less than pleasant mood. "Apparently, according to the headmaster, I am to inform you of a Yule Ball. It's part of the tradition of the Triwizard Tournament. I expect you to find partners to take to the ball and be on your best behaviour. If anyone takes points away from Slytherin that evening, you will also find yourselves in detention with me. Police yourselves." After his announcement, Professor Snape swept out of the room and the Slytherin girls present immediately started whispering among themselves.

Draco had one thought in his mind: Hermione. He turned to watch Pansy giggling with Daphne. He rolled his eyes briefly before meeting Theo's. Theo's panic was evident and Draco nodded. Together, they both crept away from their housemates. Theo headed to the dorm room and Draco headed toward the rest of the castle. Theo nodded once, a clear 'save yourself' before disappearing toward the boy's dorms.

Draco managed to slip away quietly. Once outside, he ducked into an alcove and quickly used his watch to communicate with Hermione, requesting a meeting in five minutes. He started walking toward their room, taking his time just in case she wasn't able to get away so quickly. Halfway to the seventh floor, his watch heated up and he looked closely to see 'yes' written in small script on the stone. She would be able to meet him.

Outside the room, Draco paced back and forth, asking the room for the same thing he always did, a place to meet Hermione where they would not be found, where no one else could enter. As he finished the third pace, the door materialized. He glanced around to see if anyone was in the hallway and saw Hermione approaching. Smiling, he waited for her and opened the door for her. Once inside, he shut the door behind him and walked to the couch. Hermione joined him, smiling. "What's up? Did something happen that you needed to meet right away?"

Draco nodded. "Professor Snape came to tell us about the Yule Ball today."

Hermione nodded. "Professor McGonagall told us today as well."

Draco paused for a moment and Hermione tilted her head. After taking a deep breath, he cleared his throat and met Hermione's eyes. "Will you go to the ball with me, Hermione?"

Hermione's mouth dropped open. Eyes wide, she asked, "But, what about your father?"

Shaking his head, Draco asked again, "It doesn't matter. Will you accompany me to the Yule Ball, Hermione?"

Hermione paused for a moment before nodding, a blush crossing her face. "Yes, I'd love to go to the ball with you, Draco." Draco let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding and leaned back into the couch, staring at the ceiling, relieved. Hermione laughed as she realized how stressed he had been to ask her that question. Her laughter slowly faded and after a moment, she asked, "Draco?" He turned to look at her and saw she looked rather nervous. "How can we go to the ball together and still keep our friendship a secret?"

Draco sighed. "As soon as Professor Snape announced the ball, I knew I wanted to ask you. You were the only one on my mind. I needed to ask you. And I wanted to do it as soon as possible before anyone else could." Hermione blushed again, which made Draco's stomach flip. He knew after their talk he would have to stop and think about why he had such a visceral reaction to the news about the Yule Ball. However, at the moment, he wanted to explain his thought process to Hermione. "I don't think we can go to the ball together, not after doing so well to hide our friendship for the past four years." He sighed and Hermione smiled and nodded. Draco assumed that she was beginning to understand so he continued, "I know that someone else will ask you to go and that you'll say yes. I know that I'll have to ask someone else that I don't want to go with." Hermione nodded again and Draco smiled. "But I wanted to be the first to ask you."

Hermione, still blushing, said softly, "Draco, that's very sweet."

He ducked his head, not meeting her eyes. "Thanks. I'm happy you said yes."

"Of course," Hermione whispered. They fell into a companionable silence until Hermione asked, rather timidly for her, "Should we tell each other when we do have a date?"

Draco shrugged his shoulders, slightly uncomfortable with the question, but not understanding why. "We can. It's up to you."

Hermione nodded. After another minute of silence, she brought up a different topic and Draco immediately took it up, grateful to not be dwelling on his recent rather embarrassing moments. They continued talking for a while before Hermione stated that she had a couple of things to do before curfew and asked if they could end early today.

Draco agreed and soon afterward was walking slowly down towards the dungeons. As he walked, he went over his conversation with Hermione. He hadn't been lying, as soon as Professor Snape had mentioned the Yule Ball, all Draco could think about was asking Hermione to the ball. He hadn't given even a moments thought before requesting a meeting and asking her as soon as he could.

Now, however, he had all the time in the world to dissect what had just happened. And he felt like heading out into the forest, transforming into his animagus dove form and disappearing forever. What was he thinking? He hadn't been thinking at all. It was irrational. He had had one idea in his head, asking Hermione and now that he had, all he could do was stress over it. Why had it been so important?

He kept turning this idea over and over again in his head, as he approached his common room. He whispered the password and then walked into the large, open area. Glancing around, he saw multiple groups of whispering and giggling girls. Rolling his eyes, he headed to his room. Inside, he saw that most of the other boys in his year had also hidden away in their dorm room. He glanced at Blaise, who was mostly hidden behind the curtains of his bed. "Did you make it through the common room alive, Draco?" he asked, his tone mostly joking.

Draco nodded. "There are a lot of them, talking and giggling out there."

"That's why we escaped."

Draco smiled and crawled into his bed, shutting the curtains around him. Once he was laying down, Draco covered his face with his hands and let out a silent scream. He had asked Hermione to the ball, even though he couldn't go with her. He had needed to ask her. Thinking this over, he dwelled on the idea of needing to ask her. Hermione had been in his thoughts, even more than normal lately. She was often at the forefront of his mind over the past four years, but it seemed like he was thinking of her almost constantly lately.

Sliding his hands down off his face, Draco stared upward at the covering of his four-poster bed. He went over his conversation with Hermione again, as embarrassing as it was. As he replayed the conversation in his mind, he remembered Hermione's blush when he had asked her to the ball and his stomach flipped again.

Sitting up suddenly, Draco's eyes widened. He couldn't be that dense, could he? He thought over the past few months at school and the numerous chest tightenings and stomach flips when he was around Hermione. He thought about blushing around her and dreams that he didn't want to think about but at the same time would like to dwell on for hours. He wasn't an idiot, he knew that he loved Hermione. She was his best friend. But, sitting upright in his four-poster bed in the dungeons, Draco realized he was in love with Hermione.

Collapsing backward, he sighed. He had needed to ask her to the ball so badly because he was in love with her. It would be so hard to see her on someone else's arm, like Harry or Ron. He had wanted to ask her so that when she went with someone else, he could smirk and think that she had said yes to him first. That her date was her second choice, someone who she only said yes to because she couldn't go with him.

Draco ran his hands through his hair. Realizing that he was in love with Hermione shouldn't have taken him this long. However, now that he had realized, he needed to decide how to tell her. Should he tell her? How awkward would he make this? Draco kept thinking about his revelation, turning it over and over again in his head until he finally drifted off to sleep.

The next few weeks leading up to Christmas and the Yule Ball was stressful for Draco and, he imagined, every other male his age and older. At first, he avoided his female housemates, knowing that he needed to ask one of them to the ball sooner rather than later. However, his avoidance only lasted a few days, until Theo had commented while getting ready for bed, that he had asked Daphne and she had been a little mad that he hadn't asked already. Theo had said that Daphne insinuated that she should say no to teach Theo a lesson about waiting too long.

After that, Draco walked up to Pansy first thing the next morning and asked her to the Yule Ball. Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately for him, she said yes immediately and quickly rushed off to gush to her friends about Draco finally asking her. Once he had asked Pansy, the giggling girls in the common room seemed to giggle more whenever he walked through. He had given up staying in the common room, as had the other boys in his year.

The entire castle seemed to have taken leave of its senses. Groups of girls gathered in hallways, regardless of houses. Professors piled on homework and it all seemed to be an incredible whirlwind. Draco was able to meet with Hermione once in the lead up to the break and even then, they hadn't been able to speak long.

Once they were officially on holiday after what seemed like such a long term, Draco sent Hermione a request to meet up using his watch. She sent a response back agreeing to a meeting that night. Draco had wavered whether or not to tell Hermione he was in love with her. He had ultimately decided that a declaration of love was not appropriate to spring on Hermione, especially when they were such great friends.

When they met up that night, they fell into their regular rhythm of talking and laughing. Hermione had researched a spell from a seventh-year defense book that she wanted to try and they spent a half-hour or so trying it out. Draco had brought an essay that was due after the break and Hermione had made a few suggestions that he jotted down, nodding his head as she spoke. They even had a game of exploding snap, Hermione laughing every time the cards exploded, which made Draco laugh even harder.

Neither one of them mentioned Draco's embarrassing Yule Ball proposal. Neither one of them mentioned their actual dates. For Draco, he felt that telling Hermione he was going with Pansy would diminish how badly he had wanted to take Hermione. He had debated over the past few weeks if he should have just gone to the ball solo. He had fantasized somewhat about Hermione being able to join him at the ball, ditching her date and dancing with him instead.

Still, both of them avoided mentioning the upcoming ball the whole night together. It didn't come up until they were just about to leave before curfew. Hermione had asked if they should meet again before Christmas since it was only a few days away. Draco had shrugged and said he would love to, but it was up to her. Hermione had paused and chewed on her bottom lip before saying she needed to spend some time with Harry and Ron before the Yule Ball.

Draco was confused by Hermione's reasoning but agreed. They parted ways, agreeing to meet up the day after the ball.


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Christmas morning arrived and Draco woke up to his usual stack of presents at the foot of his bed. He grabbed the pile and pulled it toward him, into the warmth of his closed curtains. He smiled as he opened a few gifts from his mother, including a journal and a set of watercolours. She had demanded that he take drawing lessons since he was young and was determined for him to enjoy creating art. He laughed softly, knowing that he wouldn't use the watercolours until he was home at the manor.

He paused before opening the next present, which was also from his mother. This was the summer his mother had said they would be leaving Lucius, so perhaps he would be working on the watercolours, not at the manor but wherever they would be hiding from his father. Excited by this prospect, he opened his next gift, which contained a few muggle clothes that he would have to hide at the bottom of his trunk. Still, he ran his hands over them and admired his mother's taste. He certainly would blend in well when they needed to go to the muggle world next.

Near the bottom of his pile was a book from his father, with a short, terse, note accompanying it about whether he had made any worthwhile connections with wizards from Durmstrang, or if he was merely squandering this important time with other notable families of different countries.

Draco sighed and put the book, which he had already read, to the side.

The last present he picked up was from Hermione. She left her presents unsigned, as he did for her. This year he had given her a few new charms for her charm bracelet, a book about House-elves he had seen in his father's study but not in the library at Hogwarts and a small beaded bag that he had seen while in muggle London and knew immediately that he had to get it for her.

Unwrapping the present from Hermione, Draco sat, stunned. He had seen these in stores with his mother, but even she had scoffed. There was a note attached and Draco picked it up to read 'These are the most popular muggle shoes right now. All summer long, all they advertised on the television were these things. I knew you had to have a pair.' Draco held up the pair of shoes that were black and white with a sort of checkmark on the side. He was irrationally in love with them. He wondered if he could get away with using them here at Hogwarts, away from his father. In the other shoe, Hermione had left a note explaining an illusion spell that could be cast on certain objects so no one saw the real item.

"Amazing," Draco whispered as he examined the shoes closer. He couldn't wait to try the illusion spell so that he could wear the shoes everywhere.

As Draco sat in his bed, he heard some of his dorm mates waking up and starting to open their presents. Gathering his presents into a pile, he peeked out and saw that the other boys in his dorm were still hidden behind their bedsheets, keeping the warmth in as they secretly unwrapped their presents. Draco managed to hide his muggle presents in his trunk before Blaise stuck his head out and called out, "Merry Christmas, Draco."

"Merry Christmas, Blaise. Did you get any good presents?"

Blaise nodded. "My mom recently got remarried. I like this one. Anyway, he sent me a new broom." Draco's eyebrows raised and Blaise shrugged. "He's rich, they're always rich. Still, it's pretty nice."

Draco walked over to see the new Firebolt that Blaise had received. He still had his Nimbus 2001 and was eager to try a different, faster broom. "Do you want to go for a fly this afternoon?"

Blaise nodded and agreed. They chatted as other friends started appearing from behind their curtains and sharing their Christmas gifts. The fourth-year Slytherin boys stuck together for the morning, going down to eat in a pack together and then outside for a lengthy fly, despite the chilly air. When they finally headed back in and down to the dorms, they were surprised to find not a single girl fourth year and above in the common room. Draco glanced around for a moment, stunned that the whispering, gossiping and laughing had ended. He must have let his amazement show on his face since Theo nudged him and whispered, "The girls are all getting ready. Daphne said she was starting as soon as she woke up today."

Draco chuckled, hiding his panic at Pansy dressing up to go to the ball with him, instead of with someone who wanted to go with her and followed along as the group of boys went up to their dorm. He showered and pulled on his dress robes. His mother had helped him buy them and he fingered the high collar on the robes, trying to get it to feel like it wasn't choking him.

When all the guys in his dorm were ready, they trouped down to the common room together. He sat, moodily thinking about seeing Hermione and whoever had asked her to the ball. Blaise and Theo sat nearby, laughing and joking. Other male Slytherins were scattered around the room, also waiting for their dates. Now and then a girl would appear and her date would smile and collect her. Wanting to get this over with, Draco looked at his watch and tapped his foot. Theo asked him a question and he reluctantly joined their conversation. It helped pass the time until finally, some of the girls in his year started to appear.

First down the girl's staircase was Tracey. She had been asked to the ball by a Ravenclaw and was going to meet him in the entrance hall. This information was helpfully whispered to Draco by Theo, who seemed to know all. After Tracey, Theo's date came down the stairs. He walked to meet Daphne and left Draco with the other Slytherin boys. They continued to talk as Blaise's date arrived, a fifth-year Slytherin girl. Millicent came down the stairs next and made a beeline for Draco. Leaning close, she whispered that Pansy wanted to make an entrance and would be incredibly upset if Draco wasn't standing at the bottom of the stairs, eagerly anticipating her arrival. Draco leaned back and raised an eyebrow at Millicent, who shrugged helplessly. He sighed and weighed the pros and cons for a minute. He eyed Millicent, who was wringing her hands nervously, obviously sent ahead as a messenger who would be punished if she failed.

Sighing, Draco leaned forward and whispered, "you owe me." Standing, he moved to the bottom of the stairs, as per Pansy's orders and hoped she would not keep him waiting too long. As he shifted from one foot to the other, he fantasized that he was waiting for Hermione to come down the stairs and how gorgeous she would look. At the sound of steps on the stairs, he shook his head to bring himself back into reality and looked up to smile at Pansy, who was slowly walking down the stairs.

She had on pink robes, which were flounced and ruffled everywhere. She was a frothy cupcake of pink and Draco had to grit his teeth to ward off the eye roll that was threatening to appear. Taking a deep breath, he smiled wider, hoping she hadn't noticed his gut reaction to her dress.

Pansy had not. With Draco at the foot of the steps, many of the Slytherins still in the common room had watched, waiting to see who Draco was waiting so eagerly for. With many sets of eyes still on them, Pansy was ecstatic. She was basking in the attention, primping her many ruffles and smiling around the room. When she sensed that she was losing the room, she walked down the last few steps and attached herself to Draco's arm.

Draco looked down at both her hands clasped around his bicep and took another deep breath. He was certain he was in for a long night. Glancing around the room, he saw Theo and Blaise, along with their dates and Greg and Vincent, dateless, were still in the room waiting for him and Pansy.

He towed Pansy across the room, her hands still clamped tight on his arm. He caught Theo's eye and tried to suppress an eye roll. Theo smirked back at him and asked, loud enough for the whole group, "should we head up together?"

"Yes. Please." Draco rolled his shoulders, which did not dislodge Pansy. As a group, the Slytherins trekked upstairs to the entrance hall. Once there, Draco looked around and immediately saw Harry and Ron, standing with the Patil twins. Where was Hermione?

More importantly, if Harry and Ron had asked each of the Patil twins to be their dates, who had asked Hermione? Draco panicked, worried that the idiots Hermione called friends didn't ask her and she was sitting the ball out. As he scowled in Harry's general direction, he tuned out whatever Pansy was saying in his ear.

When the front doors opened, the group of Slytherins turned to look as the Durmstrang group arrived. Draco's eyes trailed over Karkaroff, landing on Krum before settling on Krum's date. His stomach dropped.

Hermione.

In a set of very pretty blue dress robes, Hermione smiled up at her date, Viktor Krum. She had smoothed her hair out and looked very sure of herself. Draco tried not to gape but kept turning his gaze back to Hermione. She looked beautiful. Draco heard Professor McGonagall's voice calling the champions over and watched as the four champions and their dates moved toward her. Suddenly, his arm was yanked on and he turned to find Pansy also staring in McGonagall's direction. "Is that Granger?" Pansy hissed. Draco shrugged. Pansy then turned to the other Slytherins around them. "Is Krum's date Granger?"

Theo and Daphne stood on their toes to see over the crowd that had started to trickle into the Great Hall. Daphne dropped back down and whispered to Pansy, "I can't tell from here. Do you think Krum would have asked her? How? When?"

Pansy and Daphne continued to discuss the possibilities as they slowly walked into the Great Hall. After they got through the doors to the Great Hall, they saw the champions lined up, waiting to enter. Draco tried not to stare at Hermione as they walked by, even though Pansy was openly gaping. Draco steered Pansy to one of the small tables and pulled a chair out for her. She finally let go of his arm and dropped herself into it. He moved to sit down beside her and they were quickly joined by Theo, Daphne, Blaise, and his date, Vincent, Crabbe, Millicent and the third year Slytherin who had timidly asked her and now looked positively frightened to be sitting at a table with so many older Slytherins. There were two empty chairs left, which Draco assumed would be used by Tracey and her date at some point when the girls needed to continue their whispering and giggling.

At the moment, Pansy and Daphne had their heads close together, mouths moving quickly. Draco quirked an eyebrow at Theo and he leaned forward, "They can't believe that Krum is with Granger."

Draco sighed. He didn't want to spend an entire evening discussing Hermione. He was angry enough at the role he had to play and how unjust it seemed that he couldn't go to the ball with the girl that he wanted to. "Are we going to focus on the mudblood all night?" Even if Hermione was nowhere near him, he still felt slimy saying the word out loud.

Pansy tittered and raised her voice to include Draco in her conversation with Daphne. "Can you believe that Krum, an international Quidditch star, asked a mudblood to the ball?" She shook her head. "I thought that he was good looking, but he has no taste at all."

Daphne shook her head. "Maybe he sees something in her. I mean, he is famous. Or, maybe he likes slumming it with trash. Maybe it makes it exciting for him." She raised her eyebrows suggestively.

Narrowing his eyes, Draco hissed, "Let's not focus on an idiot and his poor choice of date."

Pansy sighed and glanced at Daphne. Although she seemed desperate to continue, Pansy listened to Draco and picked up her menu. Draco followed suit, glancing at the large table with the judges, champions and their dates. He saw Hermione chatting happily with Krum and he quickly scowled down at his menu.

As people at his table ate and talked, Draco tried to join in as best he could. He prevented himself from just staring forlornly up at the table with Krum and Hermione at it and instead talked with the other members of his house. When the champions got up to lead the first dance, Draco tried as best as he could to squash down the rising jealousy at seeing Hermione in Krum's arms. As other people started to join the dance, Pansy grabbed his arm and dragged him forward. Together, they joined in, swirling around the room, Draco's previous dance training allowing him to guide Pansy easily around the dance floor, while he stole glances at Hermione, who was whirling around with Krum.

Trying to keep his mind off Hermione, Draco allowed Pansy to lead him around the room, talking with other people, getting drinks and dancing. When she left him briefly to go to the bathroom, Draco sat down with Theo, who had also been abandoned by his date, at a table near the dance floor. The floor was still packed, even several hours into the ball. He stared out, seeing many different students he knew by name or face, having a blast. Draco also spied a few students sitting around the edge of the dance floor, like himself and Theo.

Chuckling, he spotted Harry and Ron at the back of the dance floor, both looking glum as they watched the dancing crowd. He caught Theo's eye and nodded toward the hapless duo. Together they shared a laugh until Pansy and Daphne rejoined them. Resigning himself to another hour or so of Pansy touching him far more than he'd like, he led her out onto the dance floor again.

Later, when the dance was finally winding down, Draco managed to escape from Pansy's clutches. She and Daphne had disappeared together again and Draco took the opportunity to leave the Great Hall. Although it was late, he decided against heading to his dorm room. Instead, he started walking, thinking about the night. He couldn't deny the jealousy he had experienced as he watched Hermione and Krum having a good time together. Draco rolled his shoulders, not comfortable with the feelings rising within him. The only thing that was keeping Draco relatively sane was the knowledge that he had asked Hermione first. She had said yes to him first, before anyone else. If his father wasn't the evil bastard he was, Hermione would have been smiling up at him all night.

Eventually, Draco wound up in front of the stretch of wall on the seventh floor. He wasn't planning on meeting Hermione and therefore was surprised to find a door across from the tapestry. Glancing left and right, Draco opened the door a crack, to see if Hermione was indeed the person within.

To his surprise, it was Hermione in the room. He quickly entered, shutting the door behind him. He moved forward to see Hermione sitting in front of the fireplace, crying. Draco quickly crossed the room to join her on the floor. She was still in her blue dress robes, but her hair had escaped from its sleek updo and was now falling haphazardly around her face. He knelt beside her and Hermione looked at him before choking back another sob.

Not knowing exactly what to do, Draco moved closer and tentatively wrapped his arms around Hermione. She sobbed again and buried her face into his chest. Hoping that it was the right move, Draco held Hermione closely, rubbing his hands on her back, breathing in her hair, quietly shushing her. He sat, with Hermione crying in his arms for a while until her sobs eventually petered out. Draco resisted the urge to bend and kiss the top of her head, even though he wanted to.

Hermione moved in his arms and he released his hold on her to let her sit up. Her eyes were red and puffy and the makeup she had on was slightly smeared around her eyes. Draco still thought she looked amazing.

He waited as she sat up and took a deep breath. After wiping her eyes, Hermione hiccuped and smiled at Draco, before starting to cry again. Draco waited her out, knowing that it would be better for her to tell him whatever she wished, instead of him peppering her with questions.

After a few more minutes, Hermione wiped her eyes again and sighed. "I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry for."

Hermione laughed, a choked sob escaping. "I do." Draco tilted his head and Hermione sighed. "I made Ron mad."

"How?"

"I am fraternizing with the enemy."

Draco opened his eyes wide. "What?" He leaned forward. "How does he know?" Panicked, Draco began to stand. "Did he see us together? Has he told anyone? If he knows, it can get to my father and then - Hermione!" He dropped to his knees again. "You're not safe! If my father knows that you and I are friends -"

Hermione cut him off, "No, Draco. Ron has no idea about you. At all."

Draco stopped, confused. "But, then?"

Sighing, Hermione wiped her face again and eased away, moving to the couch. "Ron meant Viktor."

For a moment, Draco paused, not understanding. And then he realized the man he had been cursing all night was not just Krum, but Viktor Krum. The panic left his body, and Draco began to feel foolish over his freakout. Instead of continuing to offer Hermione comfort, he had dominated the situation. He hung his head and moved slowly to join her on the couch. "I'm sorry, Hermione," he said, softly.

Hermione shook her head. "No need to apologize. I'm sure if Ron knew that you and I were friends, your father would already know just from how loud the screaming would be." Draco chuckled, half-heartedly and waited for Hermione to continue. Hermione sighed. "Ron never expected me to have a date and I think that's part of why he was so mad that I went with Viktor."

"Why wouldn't he expect you to have a date?" Draco asked, incredulous. He had asked Hermione the first moment he could. He couldn't imagine a world where no one else would think to ask her.

"I don't know." Hermione sighed. "He and Harry were discussing who they would take to the ball. Ron asked Fleur." Draco choked out a laugh and Hermione raised an eyebrow at him. "Right. Harry asked Cho, but Fleur and Cho both already had dates. Anyway, Ron said it would look stupid if they didn't have dates and I should go with one of them. I said I couldn't because I already had a date and he was just incredulous that I would have a date. He thought that I was making up having a date. But I wasn't."

Draco opened his mouth to express his anger at Ron, but Hermione kept going with her story, "I was in the library the day after you asked me and Viktor was there again. You know how I've been complaining that his fan club is always in there, giggling and hiding behind bookshelves?" Draco nodded and Hermione continued, "Anyway, he came up and said that he was impressed with my work ethic and asked if I would go to the ball with him." Hermione shrugged. "I figured that since you and I couldn't go together, I would say yes. After I agreed, we talked for a bit and have spoken a few times in the library. A few days later, Neville asked me. I said no since I already had a date. Then, Ernie McMillian asked me. Again, I said no. Finally, Ron said that I would have to go with one of them, after realizing I was a girl, after all. I had to say no, yet again and he was so rude. He thought no one would have thought to ask me and I was waiting to be a backup for one of them! I was so mad, I left him and refused to tell him who I was going with."

Hermione crossed her arms and Draco stared at her in disbelief. He had come to the realization earlier in the month that he was in love with Hermione. It had been a realization to him solely because everything had finally clicked with how he felt. Hermione hadn't changed. She had been wonderful, caring, helpful, sassy, ruthless, brilliant and beautiful the whole time. It didn't surprise Draco that other people had asked her to the Yule Ball. Frankly, he would have been stunned if no one had asked her. However, he was still taken aback by how many people had seen how amazing Hermione was and had asked her. He was glad he had asked her as soon as he could.

"Frankly, I think he didn't expect me to have a date after all. And when I showed up with Viktor, he just lost it. He said that I was fraternizing with the enemy. He and I got into a big fight in the common room. I went up to my dorm room but I was so mad and upset, I disillusioned myself and came here instead." She sighed and moved to lean her head on Draco's shoulder. "I'm glad you wound up here too. You're not upset or surprised that I went with Viktor, are you?"

"Of course not."

"Why?"

"I was able to ask you first. If my father wasn't who he is, if I didn't need to pretend to be this awful guy and say awful things all the time, I would have been at the ball with you. I asked you first. I knew that other people were going to ask you. I would have been floored if no one did. The only way I knew I'd be able to get through tonight was to know that I asked you first." Draco cleared his throat and Hermione sat up, turning slightly so she was facing Draco. He continued, "If Lucius Malfoy wasn't such a bastard, I would have asked you and the next day when Krum asked you, you would have said 'sorry, I already have a date.' And he would have been disappointed that an amazing girl like you already had a date. Disappointed, sure, but certainly not surprised."

Hermione was taken aback, but slowly a wide smile lit up her face.

Draco hesitated for a moment, staring at Hermione's smile, and then leaned in and briefly touched his lips to hers for a moment. He pulled away immediately to gauge her reaction. Hermione's eyes were wide and her mouth was open slightly. Draco looked away, embarrassed, already beating himself up over what just happened. He looked back at Hermione but she was still shocked, frozen in place. He opened his mouth to apologize but before he could Hermione, eyes still wide, stood up quickly and fled the room.

Draco stared at the door that Hermione had just disappeared out of. What had he done? He had just messed everything up. Draco put his head in his hands and rubbed his hands on his face. He was such an idiot. Hermione had an emotional night and he had kissed her? What kind of a moron was he? Draco sighed. He had realized he was in love with her, but he hadn't spoken to Hermione about it. He had just forced his feelings on her. How could he call himself her friend? Draco sat on the couch, thinking over what he had just done and going over how bad he felt. He needed to apologize to Hermione.


	28. Chapter 28

Hermione avoided Draco for the rest of the Christmas break. He knew she was avoiding him since messages on his watch went unanswered and she didn't show up to the few meetings he had suggested. Draco felt horrible for kissing Hermione and forcing his feelings onto her. She didn't deserve that. He had wanted to apologize and sent a message asking to meet the day after the ball. Even though she hadn't responded, Draco had gone to their room anyway, hoping she would change her mind and meet him there. Draco wound up going to their room almost every day that break. He spread out his homework and would work in silence for as long as he could and then would mope the rest of the time.

He knew it was entirely his fault that Hermione was avoiding him. If he hadn't been so selfish, he could be enjoying her company, talking and studying together. When school started again in January, Draco dragged himself to classes, trying his best to behave like normal, evil Draco.

Their first shared class together was Potions. Draco tried his best to not stare in Hermione's direction but snuck a glance now and then. She seemed happy with Harry and Ron, her fight with Ron after the Yule Ball patched up or forgotten by now. Draco continued to sneak glances throughout Potions and, by the end of the period, was not in a great mood. Packing up his bag, Draco looked up to find Theo and Blaise waiting for him, with big smiles. He scowled briefly at them, before returning to pack his bag. Since they were still there when he was done, he sighed. "What?"

Blaise raised an eyebrow and smiled even wider. "I think you'll enjoy this. Get you out of this mood you've been in since Christmas."

Draco shrugged his shoulders, unhappy with both the fact that he was in a bad mood and that his friends could tell he was in a bad mood. He followed Blaise and Theo outside the castle, toward the forbidden forest. "What are we doing out here?" Draco groused.

"You'll see!" Theo called over his shoulder.

Draco scowled at Theo's back and continued trudging behind his friends. "It's cold out here. What are we doing?" He asked, in an almost whine. He could tell that Blaise and Theo had exchanged a glance and were beginning to be annoyed with him, so he continued to follow them, without any more complaints. At the edge of the forest, Theo and Blaise stopped. Draco stopped too and peered around his friends to see Rita Skeeter emerge from the forest. It was apparent she was waiting to meet them. Draco eyed her, still in a bad mood. "Are you living in the forest now, Skeeter?"

Rita turned and stared at him, expression stern. "Now, Mister Malfoy, you should know to be kind to reporters. You don't need any more bad press for your family, do you?"

Draco raised an eyebrow and glanced at Theo, who shook his head slightly. "What are you doing, here, Skeeter?"

Rita smiled and opened her handbag to get out a quill. "Just finishing my research. I'm about to publish a very interesting article, however, I need a quote or two from some common students. I believe you'll do the trick nicely." Draco tilted his head and Rita smiled. "What do you think about Hagrid?"

Internally, Draco sighed. Rita was digging up gossip and whatever she published was going to be bad. However, Draco couldn't refuse to participate because evil Draco would love to use this opportunity to say mean things about good people. Draco rattled off some nonsense about Hagrid, including the Hippogriff attack that he felt so bad for last year. Afterward, Rita Skeeter went back into the forbidden forest and Draco, Blaise and Theo headed back into the school. "How did you guys know she wanted a quote?" Draco asked aloud.

"The night of the Yule Ball, she was out in the gardens. I spoke to her briefly and she asked if we wanted to help sell some papers." Blaise shrugged and continued. "I agreed. She sent me an owl today, asking for a meeting."

"Why were you out in the gardens?" Draco looked at his friend, who raised his eyes suggestively. "Gross. Is that why you had detention with Snape over Christmas break?" Blaise nodded and Theo laughed. Draco shook his head and led his friends into the castle and to the Great Hall for supper.

During supper, Draco felt his watch grow warm. His stomach did several flips and he turned his wrist to see that Hermione was requesting a meeting that night. He couldn't answer her immediately, at the Slytherin table, but once he left the Great Hall, he confirmed the time with his charm and headed to their room.

He was the first one to arrive and therefore set up the room. Inside, he sat on the couch and waited for Hermione. While he waited, he debated how he was going to apologize, since this was their first meeting since that disastrous kiss.

When Hermione walked in, she smiled widely at Draco. Her hair was back to normal and, although he thought she looked beautiful the last time he had seen her up close after the Yule Ball, he much preferred the everyday Hermione that he had fallen in love with.

She hurried over to him, sat down and started talking about her day and the latest dumb thing that Harry and Ron had done. She paused and looked at him questioningly a few minutes later after he had still not uttered a word. Clearing his throat, Draco opened his mouth and Hermione held up a hand. "Don't."

Taken aback, Draco tilted his head. "But -"

Hermione shook her head, cutting him off. "I don't want you to say it. Just, don't." She then continued talking about the Transfiguration essay that Professor McGonagall had assigned. Draco sat, stunned for a moment and then sighed. If she didn't want him to apologize, then he would listen to her. He joined her in her discussion of the essay and shared a couple of things he had realized when he started working on it.

They laughed and talked like normal until it was just about curfew. Hermione smiled widely and said goodnight to Draco before disappearing out of the second exit the room had created for her. Stunned, Draco walked out the normal exit and slowly made his way down to his common room. What had just happened? Hermione had avoided him for almost two weeks and then had completely swept their kiss under the rug. It was her call and if she wanted to ignore it and pretend it never happened, Draco would follow her lead. They were better off at being friends.

Things quickly fell back into their regular rhythm. Draco and Hermione continued to meet up whenever they could, Yule Ball and the aftermath completely ignored in person. Alone, Draco often found himself thinking back to the quick touch of Hermione's lips against his. He felt bad but, as a fourteen-year-old wizard, he rationalized that there were worse things he could be thinking about.

Draco and Hermione once again tried to research a way to help Harry with the second task, once he had finally figured out the clue. Hermione met Draco, told him the words of the clue and asked for his help before returning to the library with Harry, who was in a mild panic over what to do. Draco found a couple of spells that might work and requested a meeting with Hermione, who sent back a response that she wouldn't be able to meet. Unfortunately, Hermione didn't respond again, so the morning of the second task, Draco headed down to the lake with his friends wondering how Harry would accomplish the task this time. He hadn't seen Hermione in a few days, so he was in just as much suspense as the rest of the school.

When the Champions were gathered, Draco glanced around the crowd to see where Hermione was. Usually, he found her easily by searching crowds for red hair, finding Ron and then making sure Hermione was nearby. Today, however, all the red-headed students, most of them Weasleys, had no Hermione close by. He couldn't find Ron. Continuing to scan the crowd, he watched as Bagman counted and then blew a whistle, signaling the start of the competition. Together with his friends, he laughed as Harry waded into the cold lake and just stood there, looking stupid. When Harry finally threw himself into the water and swam away, Draco turned to scan the crowd again, still searching for Hermione. She couldn't have missed the second task, could she?

When Krum returned to the shore, dragging a wet and cold Hermione with him, Draco's heart sank. What had Harry's clue said? We've taken what you'll sorely miss. Hermione was the thing that Krum would miss most? Draco watched as Krum helped Hermione cover up with a blanket. They sat talking as they waited for Harry, who was the last person to arrive.

Draco wasn't surprised that Krum liked Hermione so much that she was chosen to be the person he rescued. She was wonderful and Krum recognized that. He turned his attention to Harry, who was now back on the surface, helping two people get to shore. Draco shook his head. "Diggory and Krum both rescued their dates from the Yule Ball. Meanwhile, Potter can't stand to lose dear Weasley." Theo and Blaise overhead Draco's comment and both laughed.

The fact that Krum was interested in Hermione continued to bother Draco. He wasn't upset, he knew that Krum should like Hermione, even if he barely knew her. He certainly wasn't upset that Hermione seemed to like Krum. He wanted Hermione to be happy, most of all. It bothered him most because Krum wouldn't have had the opportunity to get to know Hermione and take her to the ball if Draco didn't have to maintain his evil persona. The next time they met, Hermione waved off any talking about the second task the moment Draco had brought it up. "People have been awful." She said with a shake of her head. "I'd rather not dwell on it." Draco had agreed and Hermione switched the topic to share that Sirius would be in Hogsmeade to visit their next trip. Draco missed Sirius, although he knew that Harry probably missed him more. He wondered if he could somehow meet Sirius as well, either before or after Harry.

When the Witch Weekly article came out, Draco read it, absolutely seething. He knew that Skeeter had made up just about everything in the article and he was mad on Hermione's behalf. She didn't deserve to be made out to be a devious witch, moving from man to man solely because she was friends with Harry. When Professor Snape read the article out loud in Potions, Draco's hands were hidden under the Potion's bench, so his clenched fists didn't give him away.

They didn't meet up that night, although Draco would have liked to, to reassure Hermione that no one who mattered thought she was anything like the article. The next day was the Hogsmeade trip. Draco knew that the trio would be meeting Sirius, thanks to Hermione. He shook his head to invitations from his friends to hang out, instead opting to loiter around and hope he could follow the trio to Sirius.

When he saw Hermione, Ron, and Harry walking purposefully through Hogsmeade, Draco glanced around and performed the disillusionment spell on himself. Hermione had made sure that he was able to perform it just as well as she could after their near discovery earlier in the year. Draco hurried forward, intent on following the trio. When they stopped in front of a large, shaggy dog, Draco's heart clenched. Sirius looked incredibly skinny, even in his animagus form. He watched as Sirius led the trio off, toward the mountain. He followed behind, watching as they climbed upward and then eventually disappeared into what he assumed was a cave. He settled down, waiting for them to reappear so that he could hopefully also have some time with Sirius.

An hour and a half later, they reappeared, walking slowly down the mountainside. Draco watched as, one by one, they all patted Sirius on the head and then turned to leave. Sirius, not knowing that Draco was nearby, started running away along the outskirts of the village. Draco moved forward, walking toward the base of the mountain where Harry, Hermione, and Ron had gone up and come back down. He knew that Sirius would come back this way, eventually. Removing the disillusionment spell from himself, he waited until he saw a large black dog coming back toward the mountain. He waited and Sirius stepped forward, cautiously, then wagged his tail and headed up the mountain.

Draco figured that meant he was to follow. He followed Sirius up until he too was in the cave. In the cave, he saw that Sirius was not alone. Seeing Buckbeak again, for the first time since he had been scratched, Draco was intimidated at first. He bowed low and left his neck exposed for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, he heard Buckbeak move and, raising his head slightly, he saw the hippogriff bow to him. Happy that he wouldn't be attacked this time, Draco turned to his mother's cousin and smiled widely. Sirius had transformed back into a man and was looking at Draco with raised eyebrows. "What are you doing here? How did you know I was here?"

Draco shrugged, not wanting to disclose his secret friendship to Hermione, not even to Sirius. "I saw Potter, Weasley, and Granger walking in the village. Then I noticed you. You're hard to miss if someone knows your form. I decided to wait and see if I could catch you after you were done talking to them. I hid so they didn't see me and waited until you came back."

Sirius shook his head. "You know, the whole animagus thing was supposed to be a great disguise."

"It is. Except if people know who you are."

"Fair enough." Sirius paused and then narrowed his eyes. "But, why are you here?"

Draco sighed. "I saw you and wanted to talk. I enjoyed getting to know you this summer and I'm sure if I go home in June and let my mother know I saw you and didn't speak to you-"

"Narcissa would lose her mind." Sirius cut Draco off with a laugh. "Okay, kid." Sirius sat on the ground in the cave and Draco followed suit. "What's new? Still being a jerk to everyone?"

Nodding his head, Draco looked at the ground. "Yeah. It's not a lot of fun. Saying things you don't mean is exhausting. Constantly agreeing with someone but picking a fight is exhausting. I'll be glad when I can drop this act forever."

Sirius raised his eyebrows. "You think you can drop the act?"

Draco recoiled. "You think I can't? That I have to be this terrible person forever? Saying rude things to Harry, making up stories about Hagrid, fighting in the halls with everyone? I have to be that person forever?"

Shaking his head, Sirius corrected himself. "No, I didn't mean I didn't think you could drop the act, I meant more, 'You think you can drop the act soon?' as in, you see an end in sight?"

"Oh." Draco paused and thought. "Well, you know my mother wants to leave Lucius, right?" At Sirius' nod, Draco nodded too. "I thought that if she was safe, away from my father, I could start showing people who I am. Which, for the record, is someone who gets sick to his stomach when he hears or says a particularly bad slur."

Sirius nodded. "Well, then, I hope she leaves him soon." Draco nodded as well. Sirius cleared his throat and continued, "Did you give any thought to my advice about letting people on the other side know that you're not half bad?" Draco shook his head and Sirius sighed. "Take it from me, kid. If only one person knows you're good and they end up dying, it's really hard to get anyone else to believe in you."

"I know." Draco made eye contact with Sirius. "I know that I shouldn't just have one person. But I only trust one person. If more people knew, then more people have the potential to leak information to my father. Which means my mother is vulnerable. I can't. I just can't."

Sirius sat in silence for a while, thinking over Draco's problems. "I get it, Draco. I do. But, I'm going to continue to say that you should expand your circle a bit. Even by one person."

Draco nodded and tried to switch topics. "I assume you're up here because Harry is in the tournament?"

"Yes. I wanted to be close. Harry's name shouldn't have been pulled. I've been hearing rumours and reading between the lines of the awful reporting in the Daily Prophet. Something is going on. I am determined to protect him." He chuckled and then added, "and maybe you. If it's not too much trouble."

Draco laughed. "Well, thanks. My mother would be very happy. What do you think is happening?" Draco knew what Hermione had told him so far, but maybe Sirius hadn't shared everything with the trio.

"I don't know for sure, but I think something is going on with former Death Eaters. Your father was away on business a lot this summer. Karkaroff was an associate, I'm sure. I don't know why they are regrouping, but I know it can't be a good thing."

"Is there anything I should be doing? I mean, what could I do to help?"

Sirius smiled and shrugged. "Nothing. Like I said before, you should consider letting a few more people know that you're not a terrible person. Other than that, you should enjoy school. You're fourteen, almost fifteen. You should be having fun, learning, kissing girls. All the regular stuff teenagers do."

Draco ducked his head, thinking about his first and only kiss so far, the incredibly awkward one with Hermione that she was, so far, determined to ignore. Sirius saw this movement and raised one eyebrow, but chose not to comment. Instead, he pointed out, "It's getting late. I'm sure you need to get back to the castle soon."

"I know. Hey, can I help you here at all? If you're planning on being here until June, just to be close to Harry, maybe I can get a house-elf to deliver food? Or I could write to my mom and tell her to come to Hogsmeade? Although," He paused and looked over the cave where Sirius had been staying, "She would probably take one look around and stun you to bring you back to the manor."

Laughing, Sirius shook his head. "No, don't tell her where I am. I wouldn't say no to food though, however you'd like to get it to me."

Draco nodded and stood up to leave. "Thanks for talking with me, Sirius. It was good to see you."

"You too, kid. Although you still look too much like your father."

Draco laughed again. "I can walk down myself unless you're dying to get back to the village?"

"No, I think one person recognizing me today is all I can handle. If you're sure you can get back down yourself, I'll stay here with Buckbeak."

Draco nodded and left the cave. He headed down for a bit, before turning to see if Sirius was watching him. He couldn't see the cave entrance, so Draco ducked down behind a large boulder and transformed into his dove form. He hadn't practiced much outside since it was winter, but he needed to get back up to the castle as soon as possible. It was almost time for the gates to be closed and he was cutting it close.

Flying quickly toward the castle, Draco landed in the woods near the gate, transformed back and hurried forward before Filch could close the gate. He ducked through and ignored Filch's muttering about being late. He had made it back just in time.


End file.
